The Federal Office of Public Health said the aim of the three-year operation was to raise awareness of the importance of donations. The government has set aside CHF3.5 million ($3.5 million).
Last year a record number of organ donors was registered, with 18.6 per one million residents. The authorities hope to increase the number to 22 by 2021.
About 80% of the population is apparently in favour of organ donations, but only very few of them let their families know about it, according to a statement published by the health office on Monday.
Campaigners warn that families might face difficult situations if they are not sure whether a deceased person gave consent to an organ donation.
Last October the Swisstransplant foundation opened an organ donor register, 12 months after a people’s initiative was launched aimed at promoting organ donations. If successful in a nationwide vote, organ donations would be based on presumed consent, reversing the current opt-in policy, which requires explicit consent by potential donors.
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Switzerland increasingly a target for people smuggling and trafficking
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Switzerland is increasingly being targeted by organized crime. This also applies to commercial people smuggling, the fastest growing criminal market in Europe.
Swiss forests better equipped against storms 25 years after Lothar
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Twenty-five years ago, Hurricane Lothar toppled trees like dominoes in Switzerland. Forests today are better prepared to cope with such an exceptional event, say experts.
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The Locarno Film Festival is considering moving from the beginning of August to the second half of July for its 80th edition in 2027.
Council of Europe head Alain Berset visits Georgia
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The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, is visiting Georgia, which has been rocked by a political crisis, from Wednesday.
Swiss politician who shot at Jesus faces criminal proceedings
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The Zurich public prosecutor's office has opened criminal proceedings against politician Sanija Ameti. It is investigating whether she disrupted freedom of religion and worship.
Switzerland must be able to control immigration, says head of business federation
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Switzerland must be able to control immigration itself if it "exceeds the tolerable limits", says Christoph Mäder, president of Economiesuisse, the Swiss Business Federation.
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The film Reinas by Klaudia Reynicke, a Swiss-Peruvian-Spanish co-production, has missed out on an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film.
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Shaw specialises in the ethics of organ donation and transplantation in the Institute for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Basel. He is also a member of Britain’s Donation Ethics Committee, which advises the Department of Health on organ policy. Donor cards alone aren’t enough, Shaw believes. Among other things, he questions why Switzerland doesn’t have…
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The Federal Health OfficeExternal link said 145 people had agreed to provide one or several organs upon their death. In addition, 137 live donors had given a kidney or part of their liver. In total, 440 patients were able to benefit in 2017, according to a statement published on Monday. Officials say the increase is…
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