Organ donation (taking from a living person)

Verified 01 June 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Wondering if you can donate an organ in your lifetime? Yes, you can in the direct therapeutic interest of a recipient. This receiver is obligatorily one of your relatives. It is also possible to use a cross-donation. A procedure must be followed. It involves, in particular, going to a health facility. Here we explain the rules to know.

Gift within the immediate entourage

A sick person may receive an organ donation from you if you are one of his relatives, i.e.:

  • Her father or mother
  • His spouse
  • The spouse of the parent
  • His son or daughter
  • His brother or sister
  • His grandparents, uncles or aunts, cousins or first cousins
  • The person with whom she lives as a couple for at least 2 years
  • Any person with whom they have had a close and stable emotional relationship for at least 2 years.

Cross-Donation

In the event of incompatibility between you and the recipient, you and the recipient may be offered the use of a cross-organ donation.

This means that a potential recipient will benefit from the donation of another person who has expressed the intention to donate and who is also placed in a situation of incompatibility with the originally designated recipient. The latter benefiting from the gift of another.

The maximum number of donor-recipient pairs that can be involved in cross-donation is 6.

In the context of a cross-donation of organs, an organ taken from a deceased person may be used.

Example :

A donor D 1 wishes to give the recipient R 1 to his close relative, but is not compatible with him. Moreover, a donor D 2 also wishes to give to his relative, the recipient R 2, but is not compatible with him.

If the donor D 1 is compatible with the recipient R 2 and the donor D 2 is compatible with the recipient R 1, a transplant may be envisaged between the donor D 1 and the recipient R 2 and another between the donor D 2 and the recipient R 1. This is what we call the cross-donation.

This procedure preserves theanonymity between donor and recipient.

Please note

No removal of organs for donation is possible from a minor or adult who is the subject of a donation. protective measure including the protection of the person (and not only his property).

Information of the donor

Before giving your consent, you are informed of the following facts:

  • Risks Incurred
  • Possible consequences of the sample (foreseeable physical or psychological consequences, possible repercussions on your personal, family and professional life)
  • Results that can be expected from the transplant for the recipient
  • Possibly, conditions for a cross-donation, in particular on the possibility of using an organ taken from a deceased person.

To do this, you are received by a committee of experts. The committee ensures that your choice is free and that you are aware of the stakes and potential risks of the operation.

FYI  

The healthcare facility in which the sample is intended to be taken will provide you with a list of the sites where this expert committee is located. You have to choose from this list the place where the committee will meet.

Collection of the donor's written consent

You must, on your own initiative, express your consent in writing before the President of the Court or a magistrate appointed by him. You can reconsider your decision at any time.

You can apply to one of the following courts:

  • The location of the health facility where the sample is intended to be taken
  • The location of the health facility where the recipient is hospitalized
  • The one where you live if you live in France.

Please note

Attending physicians ensure that their patients who are at least 16 years of age are informed of ways to consent to organ donation for transplantation. If not, they shall individually deliver that information to them as soon as possible. The doctors of the national education and the doctors of preventive medicine of the higher education institutions participate in the dissemination of this information.

Peculiarities exist if a vital emergency is proven.

General case

You must fill in the cerfa form n°15427 and send it to the judicial court:

Consent to organ donation between living persons in the absence of a vital emergency

Vital Emergency

In case of vital emergency attested by the doctor in charge of the department where the sample is intended, you should contact the Prosecutor of the Republic a signed document indicating your consent to the donation and your relationship with the recipient.

The prosecutor certifies in writing that he has received this consent and informs the responsible doctor.

Direct Debit Authorization

You must submit a request for authorization to take samples to the expert committee. Your request must be accompanied by a copy of the act by which your consent was obtained.

After deliberation, the decision authorizing the levy shall be taken by the Committee of Experts by a majority.

The decision is communicated by any means that allows to keep a written record to the following 2 persons:

  • Yourself
  • Physician responsible for the department where the sample is intended. He forwards the authorization to the director of the establishment.

Reminder

The healthcare facility in which the sample is intended to be taken will provide you with a list of the sites where this expert committee is located. You have to choose from this list the place where the committee will meet.

The healthcare institution that performs the sampling shall cover the healthcare costs incurred.

It reimburses certain expenses you have incurred upon presentation of the supporting documents of expenditure. These are the following costs:

  • Transport costs
  • Accommodation costs excluding hospitalization within the limit of €230 per day
  • All costs of hospitalization (including hospital fee), examination and treatment prescribed for the collection
  • Follow-up and care costs due to the levy on you
  • Contingent daily allowance for loss of remuneration, limited to €171.87 raw.

Please note

If your condition requires the assistance of a third party, the expenses of your companion can be covered under the same conditions.

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