You can only get on to the registry by going through the following steps:
- You sign a ‘declaration of willingness’ (that you can revoke at any time).
- You have some blood taken to determine your tissue type.
- You complete a medical questionnaire with the medical doctor at the donor centre.
The medical doctor will ask a number of questions with regards to specific diseases (e.g. asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, hepatitis and jaundice, tropical diseases or stays in countries where malaria is prevalent) that you might have been affected with. Any surgical procedures in the past, any allergies, medication, family history of thrombosis or inclination to haemorrhaging, addictions or sexual risk behaviour with regards to transmitting AIDS, will also be discussed.
Once all that has been completed, it’s all about waiting to see whether you will ever be called on to become a donor.
Becoming a donor is anonymous, free and voluntary
Donating is anonymous, free and voluntary. Nor is there any form of financial or other compensation for the donor. An insurance policy is taken out for every donor to cover any physical harm that may result from making a donation. The law states that a donor may change his or her mind at any time and may also withdraw from being a donor at any time. It must be clearly understood, though, that if the donor withdraws once the preparatory treatment of the patient/recipient has been started, that this may have fatal consequences for the patient. Information about the patient to whom one donates may only be disclosed anonymously after the Belgian Registry, the patient him/herself and the transplant centre agree.