Tattoo signals organ donor consent

Organ donation remains a contentious and emotionally charged issue. What do you think of this new initiative out of Germany, which provides a free tattoo for those wishing to be organ donors? As well as attracting attention and sparking conversation / awareness, the inking makes the wearer's wishes visible in situations where a relative's authorisation might otherwise be necessary. According to its creators, Germany has one of the lowest organ donor rates in Europe, at 0.001%, and has no national register. Some countries have an 'opt-out' system, whereby people's organs can be donated unless they have officially opted out; others such as Germany operate under the 'opt-in' system, in which people need to sign up / register / make their wishes formally known in order to donate organs. This OPT-INK scheme turns the tattoo into a consent form. The actual design was created by a Berlin-based artist, Gara, and is designed to be easily recognised and re-created by a broad range of tattooists so as to boost scaleability. Brilliant and much-needed concept / delivery; development open to harmful abuse; either or both, like most innovations?

Keywords: OPT-INK, organ donor tattoos, Junge Helden, organ donation Europe, McCann Worldwide, McCann Germany