National legislation on organ donation
Main law references
ACT 285/2002 (Zákon č. 285/2002 Sb.) of 30.05.2002, effective from 01.09.2002: law on donation, drafts and transplantation of tissues and organs.
Amendments of the main Act:
Zákon č. 228/2005 Sb.
Zákon č. 129/2008 Sb.
Zákon č. 296/2008 Sb.
Zákon č. 41/2009 Sb.
Zákon č. 281/2009 Sb.
Zákon č. 375/2011 Sb.
Zákon č. 44/2013 Sb.
Zákon č. 100/2017 Sb.
Zákon č. 183/2017 Sb.
Zákon č. 202/2017 Sb.
Zákon č. 97/2019 Sb.
Expression of consent or dissent to the donation and organs that can be donated
According to the law (no. 285/2002 Coll.) in the Czech Republic the principle of presumed consent is applied. It deals with people who during their lifetime have not expressed clear opposition to the donation in writing and are registered in the National Register of people who disagree with posthumous donation. If no opposition has been provided, consent is presumed. In this case, healthcare providers shall maintain the anonymity of the deceased donor and eventually of the living donor, if he wants to.
The dissent of a deceased donor is applied
if the donor is registered in the National Register of people who disagree with post mortem donation,
if the donor during his/her lifetime has expressed his/her dissent in the medical facility in front of the attending physician and one witness, or
if the legal representative of a person who lacks full legal capacity has expressed his/her dissent in the medical facility in front of the attending physician and one witness.
Unidentified deceased people cannot donate organs or tissues.
A living donor can be a person close to the recipient or not, if the donor has explicitly expressed his/her will to donate an organ to that specific recipient. When it comes to donation to a person who’s not close to the donor an Ethic Committee shall come together and approve the act.
The most donated organs are heart, pancreas, liver and kidney. However a living donor is up to donate only a part of an organ capable of regeneration or adaptation, one paired organ and/or uterus when it comes to treating infertility.
National laws on organ donation