Concerning organ donation, the European Commission sees the central challenge in increasing the number of organ donors in the European Union and in ensuring the quality and safety of the entire process of organ donation – from the act of donating to the transplantation itself. For this purpose, the European Commission has formulated ten primary measures in order to strengthen cooperation between the Member States. This plan has been complemented by the Directive 2010/45/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards of quality and safety of human organs intended for transplantation.

In 2015, the European commission funded a study conducted by the external contractor Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL) to evaluate the action plan. NIVEL published its report in 2017 and concluded that the increase of organ donors and transplants are chiefly attributable to the National Competent Authorities but that the Member States indicated that the action plan helped them improve their organ donation policies. The report also points out further means of improvement, e.g. the need for clearly defined actions and the involvement of actors at the professional, administrative and political level.