Credit card and organ donor card in one

Credit card and organ donor card in one: The Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank (German Pharmacists and Doctors Bank) says it will be the first credit institution to offer its customers a Mastercard with an organ donor card function, the "Life Donor Mastercard." According to a press release, the card contains no medical data but solely documents the voluntary decision to donate organs – in addition to all the features of a credit card.

"As a health bank, we see it as our responsibility to support this socially highly relevant issue," Matthias Schellenberg, CEO of apoBank, is quoted in the press release. The card makes one of life's most important medical decisions visible to others, thus encouraging them to consider organ donation, and can be quickly found in an emergency.

According to the German Organ Transplantation Foundation, there are currently over 8,000 people on the waiting list for a donor organ in Germany. At the same time, public support for organ donation is high: According to surveys, around 85 percent would do so in an emergency, but less than half actually document this decision. Mastercard's Life Donor feature provides an additional and straightforward way to declare one's willingness to donate organs, the statement continues. (eb)