Those who donate an organ while alive in France should no longer have to accept financial disadvantages or administrative burdens. With this goal, the Senate unanimously passed a bill on June 9, 2026, which aims to ensure the so-called “financial neutrality” of living organ donation. The basic idea is as simple as it is far-reaching: an organ donation should neither enrich nor disadvantage the donor.
Until now, a significant gap existed between this ethical principle and reality. Despite the full coverage of medical procedure costs, some donors had to advance expenses, bear co-payments, or suffer income losses. Waiting periods for sickness benefits as well as organizational hurdles in professional life could also cause additional burdens.
The newly passed legislative package aims to eliminate these obstacles. It provides for mandatory direct cost coverage by health insurance for all medical services related to the donation. Fees above legal tariffs will be excluded, and co-payments and flat fees will be eliminated. Furthermore, the previous waiting period for sickness benefit payments will be removed.
Moreover, the rights of employees are strengthened. In the future, paid leave will be possible not only for the actual operation but also for necessary preliminary examinations and medical aftercare. The goal is to significantly reduce the organizational effort for donors and improve compatibility with professional life.
A particularly remarkable addition made by the Senate concerns insurance. In the future, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to ask about living organ donations in health questionnaires. This legislative response addresses concerns that donors could be indirectly disadvantaged in credit, life, or disability insurances.
The reform has not only a practical but also a health policy dimension. In 2025, France recorded a total of 616 transplants with living donors, including 605 kidney transplants. However, measured against the need, this number remains low. The national transplantation plan for 2022 to 2026 had set the goal of increasing the proportion of kidney transplants with living donors to 20 percent. In reality, this proportion was only 9.9 percent recently.
Whether the new regulations will actually lead to increased willingness to donate remains to be seen. Politically, however, the Senate is sending a clear signal: those willing to give another person a new life by donating an organ should not have to fear financial or social disadvantages. The ethical idea of voluntariness is thus being comprehensively supplemented for the first time by concrete social and economic protective mechanisms.
The bill will now be discussed by the National Assembly under an accelerated procedure. Its unanimous adoption in the Senate, however, already points to broad political consensus.
Author: P. Tiko