How do I register as an organ or tissue donor?
You can record your decision about donating your organs and tissue after your death in the Donor Register. You do this by filling in a donor registration form, either online or on paper. You can change your decision at any time by completing a new form. To register or change your donor registration online, you must have a DigiD.
Register as a donor
You can register as a donor online at donorregister.nl (in Dutch). Or you can request a donor form. You can request the form by phone (in Dutch) as well. In addition, the form is available from:
- your family doctor
- pharmacies
- the Civil Affairs (Burgerzaken) counter at your municipality
Distribution of donor registration forms
Donor forms are distributed automatically to:
- young people when they turn 18
- (in the case of most municipal authorities) people collecting a new travel document or passport
- newcomers who have been registered as residents of the Netherlands for 3 years.
Registering your decision
When you join the Donor Register, you can choose from four possible options:
- Yes, I give consent.
- No, I do not give consent.
- I leave the choice to my nearest relatives.
- I leave the choice to a specified person.
Which organs and tissue can be transplanted?
When you record your consent in the Register, you can specify what organs or tissue you would like to donate. Organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and intestines. The skin, bone tissue (including tendons and cartilage), eye tissue, heart valves and blood vessels are transplantable forms of tissue.
Joining the Register is not compulsory
In an emergency, if your wishes about tissue or organ donation are not recorded in the Donor Register, your nearest relatives will have to make the decision. This may be distressing for them. They may also be more likely to say ‘no’, for instance because they do not know what you would have wanted.