Sweden

Sweden – a pocket guide 137
National Board of Health and Welfare maintains a registry
of people who have issued a statement consenting to or
opposing removal of their organs used for transplantation.
You can fill in a donor card, donationskort, indicating what
your wishes are. If you have not reported that you object
to donation, the healthcare system assumes that you
consent. Close relatives may, however, prevent the health
services from taking organs if the deceased has not registered
as a donor. For more information, see the brochure “Kan
någon annan få dina njurar när du dör”, which is available at
pharmacies. The brochure is available in several languages.
In Sweden, a funeral fee is paid through the income tax
system. For members of the Church of Sweden, the funeral
fee is included in the church fee, which is also paid
along with income tax. The funeral fee is used to pay for
a grave site, cremation, interment and premises for a nonsectarian
funeral. This applies to all people, regardless of
religious affiliation.
You can also hold a religious or other ceremony: a
funeral within the Church of Sweden, a funeral according
to the traditions of another religious community, a
civil funeral or interment without a ceremony. If you
belong to the Church of Sweden, a church funeral is free
of charge.
Even if the ceremony is held according to the traditions
of another religion, the deceased may be buried at a cemetery
belonging to the Church of Sweden. In some cities,
other religious communities have their own cemeteries.
The Swedish authorities try to accommodate the wishes
of other communities within the limits of the law and possibility.
The dead are often cremated in Sweden, after which an
urn containing the ashes is interred at a cemetery. Rather
than having a grave, you can request that the ashes be
Families and
living together