Bundestag "yes" to amended transfusion law:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The lower house of the German parliament (Bundestag) has agreed to the amended blood transfusion law, bringing Germany into line with the EU Directive on quality and safety standards for blood and blood components. During the parliamentary debate, the German Red Cross had urged a ban on commercial blood donor establishments, a call that was rejected by MPs. However, several passages of the new law underline and stress the non-commercial nature of blood and plasma doning. The law has also ordered that a central database of all establishments that take and distribute blood stem cells be kept at the national medical and information institute (DIMDI).