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Organ donation after euthanasia
Sunrise over an open field

For relatives

Your partner, parent, child or friend has chosen euthanasia and wishes to donate organs afterwards. This page explains what that means for the farewell and for you.

Donation after euthanasia does not change whether you can say goodbye, but it does change how and where. The farewell takes place in hospital and follows a fixed timeline. Many relatives find this intense and at the same time meaningful: their loved one's wish is carried forward.

The conversation beforehand

  • The request preferably starts with the patient; the treating physician may also raise it early in the process. You do not have to arrange or persuade anything, but you may join the conversations.
  • Ask whatever you want to know. 'Small' questions about timing, clothing, children or photographs matter too.
  • It is normal for relatives to feel differently about it. Say so, preferably before a date is planned.
  • Ask for one fixed contact person in the hospital, usually the donation coordinator.

Can I be there at the farewell?

  • Yes. You can be with your loved one until just before the euthanasia, usually in a private room in the intensive care unit.
  • The euthanasia is carried out by the patient's own physician, not by the donation team.
  • In most hospitals you may stay with your loved one during the euthanasia, until the physician has determined death; ask the organ donation coordinator what is possible in your hospital. After death there is a five-minute period in which no one touches the body. Your loved one is then taken to the operating theatre for the donation; that is the moment of parting.
  • Some people say their extended goodbyes at home and travel to hospital only shortly before the agreed time. That is allowed.

The day itself, step by step

  • You arrive at an agreed time; a quiet room is available for you and your family.
  • The team explains once more what will happen and when you will leave the room.
  • The donation operation takes a few hours. You can wait in the hospital or go home; agree on this in advance.
  • You may ask to see your loved one again after the operation and say goodbye once more. This is usually possible.

After death

  • After donation the body is carefully closed and cared for. Laying out, a normal funeral and viewing remain possible.
  • Because euthanasia is a non-natural death, the municipal coroner attends and the public prosecutor gives release. This can delay the funeral by several hours to a day; discuss planning with the funeral director.
  • The donation involves no costs for you.
  • Later on, the donation coordinator can give you general, anonymous information about what the donation achieved, for example whether the transplants went well. Names of recipients are never shared.

Looking after yourself

  • Grief after an anticipated death often runs differently: the farewell was prepared, but the loss is no smaller.
  • It can help to request a follow-up conversation with the physician or donation coordinator for questions that surface only later.
  • Talk to your GP if sadness, guilt or sleeplessness persist. That is ordinary aftercare, not weakness.

Where to find support

Organisations offering information or support to relatives.

Research on donation after euthanasia

As researchers we would like to hear from people whose loved one donated organs after euthanasia. By learning how the process was experienced, we aim to find out what we can improve.

Would you like to share your experience? Please get in touch with us via the contact page.

This page offers general information. Always discuss your own situation with the treating physician or the hospital's donation coordinator.