Obstacles to kidney exchange in Germany

An op-ed in yesterday's Handelsblatt Global (in English) proposes that kidney exchange should be allowed in Germany:
Germany should allow donating organs to strangers
by Fabian Kurz and Fred Roeder, July 2, 2018

An earlier brief discussion/blog post (in German) with some interesting links describes some of the current obstacles to kidney exchange in Germany:

Nieren-Tausch kann Leben retten (Kidney exchange can save lives)
von Alexander Fink & Fabian Kurz, 20. Juni 2018

Here's the German Transplant Act.

Here's a ruling of the German Federal Social Court, confirming the effective ban on kidney exchange.

Here's a 2005 news story about two patient-donor pairs who were allowed to engage in a kidney exchange after arguing that they had established a sufficient relationship with each other, to fit the requirement of the law that transplants can only be received from close relations, i.e. immediate family, or a "special personal bond" .
Nieren-Tausch soll Leben retten (Kidney exchange is supposed to save lives)
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Some earlier discussions and links:

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Transplants in Germany, further discussion of changing the transplant law, in Der Tagesspiegel

Sunday, January 21, 2018

The number of organ donors in Germany has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Organ donation in Germany

Organ donation in Germany is declining, from an already low rate.