Israel will be the first country in the world to give priority to people who sign organ donor cards if they need a transplant. The law comes into effect in January.

Higher priority is also given to first degree relatives of those who have signed donor cards, to first degree relatives of those who have died and given organs, and to live donors of a kidney, liver lobe or lung lobe who have donated for as yet undesignated recipients.

Israel has a bad record on organ donation. Only 10% of adults hold donor cards, compared to more than 30% in many Western countries. The consent rate for organ donation in Israel, defined as the proportion of actual donors of total number of medically eligible brain-dead donors, has consistently been 45% during the past decade, much lower than the 70—90% consent rate in most Western countries.

Patients in urgent need of a transplant will continue to receive priority. However, if two such people need the same organ, the one with a donor card will get it.

A huge public information campaign, in multiple languages and formats, is underway to educate the Israeli population on the new law.

Comments from experts on an article in The Lancet describing the new system were mildly positive: "If Israel's initiative of incentives for donation actually makes a difference by producing more organs for transplantation, it will be instructive. We wait to see," said two Canadians. And Dr Paolo Bruzzone, an Italian transplant surgeon said that donor card priority certainly was a better system than removing organs without consent from brain-dead patients or offering financial incentives. ~ Eureka Alert, Dec 16