After a few years residence in France, it suddenly struck me that maybe I should replace my NHS organ donor card with a local one, not least because I so rarely visit the UK, that the odds of meeting my end there are hopefully quite slim.
So, applied online and in due course a letter arrived, which at first I didn’t fully understand because it had a tear-off bank payment slip. However, having read the letter more carefully it appears that I have to pay 12€ or make a (financial) donation of my own choice in order to become an organ donor in France. But, I’m freely offering them my organs and any other bits that might be useful to someone else - I’m not even trying to score a kidney (even though I’m very partial to rognons d’agneau).
Obviously, I’m still going to shell out the 12€, but I think this requirement is not just a tad cheesey, but more importantly it must also be a deterrent to people on low incomes.
How odd… I thought that since around 2017… folk in France are presumed to be donors unless they have specifically registered that they do NOT want their organs to be used…
might it be that the 12€ is for the “DO NOT TOUCH” card… 
or is it simply to give you a card so your family know that you know … what is to happen when you die… (although I can’t see the point if it is automatic anyway)
What was the website @DrMarkH where you applied for the card … ???
thnking about it Citizens is not the same as Residents… that could well be the reason… Residents who are not Citizens… perhaps they need to say YES, Take me…
are you actually paying the opt out fee 
reference here.
Will they take UK organs? They won’t take our blood…and if we have infected blood then wouldn’t organs also be a risk?
Maybe you could scan the document and let us see it?
I agree with others, that in France you are automatically assumed to be opted in unless you have registered otherwise.
All my bits are well past their “best before” date, so of no use except as fertilizer.
Thanks very much, I haven’t yet written the cheque, and if I had, things could have gone badly wrong!
You can donate your body to medical research for free in France even if you’re not a citizen. Our local undertaker promises to smile and wave byebye as well.
Both blood and organs, and any other bits, can be donated in France for research purposes. I donate blood several times a year to my nearby medical university for their research. I carry a card, needed or not. Cards can be downloaded from https://www.france-adot.org/
Thanks Geoff,
I now know that my difficulties began through not receiving a verification code when I made the original application. That’s now been sorted, unbelievably within minutes of e-mailng them on a Sunday lunchtime!!!