Is organ donation opt-in or opt-out in the United States?
Opt-in (explicit consent)
The US currently uses an opt-in system, with opt-out being proposed.
The United States is one of 11 countries classified “Opt-in (explicit consent)” for organ donor consent — 50% of the 22 with data. (Also searched as presumed consent.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Organ donation
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Canada
- Varies by region Canada's organ donation consent system varies by province and territory.
- Guatemala
- Opt-in (explicit consent) Guatemala requires explicit prior consent for organ donation under an opt-in system.
- Colombia
- Opt-out (presumed consent) Colombia introduced an opt-out policy in 2017 where all people are presumed donors.
- United Kingdom
- Opt-out (presumed consent) All four UK nations presume consent to donation unless you opt out — Wales since 2015, England 2020, Scotland 2021, Northern Ireland 2023.
- Brazil
- Opt-in (explicit consent) Brazilian law grants the family ultimate authority over organ donation decisions.
- Netherlands
- Opt-out (presumed consent) The Netherlands uses an opt-out system where non-response to notices implies consent.
Other laws in United States
- Abortion
- Varies by region
- Euthanasia
- Varies by region
- Suicide Laws
- Varies by region
- FGM Laws
- Specifically banned
- Surrogacy
- Varies by region
Every law in the United States → · Which countries have opt-out organ donation? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.