De nieuwe docent - Sax.nu

International
A matter of life or death: organ
donation in the Netherlands
Quite recently the shortage of organ donors
was a hot issue on television and in newspaper
in the Netherlands. Now, the Dutch
government is struggling with the problem of
donor registration. What is the problem and
what do Saxion students say about this matter?
While there are long waiting lists
of people who urgently need
new organs, there are not enough
people who have registered as
donors. On average, a patient who
needs a donated organ has to wait
for four years before he or she gets
it. Within that waiting time, other
severe patients may have died. This
serious problem brings up the
question if all citizens should be
automatically registered as donors.
But in October last year, a proposal
of this nature was rejected by the
lower house of the Dutch parliament.
A few Dutch students do not think
the automatic donor registration
system should be rejected. Tobias
Fikkert has registered as a donor. He
finds it can help people’s lives. He
says, “It is a good thing that more
people should donate their organs.
People should think about this.
They should be automatically
registered as donors.” He finds there
Places to visit
28 februari 2009
is no need for him to be afraid of
being a donor. “I won’t need my
organs when I am dead.”
Tom Elfrink thinks the automatic
donor registration system should
have been approved by the Dutch
parliament. “It is a good solution. I
would be a donor, too, but now I am
not as I am not eighteen years old
yet.” He supports his relatives if they
want to be donors. Organ donation is
a matter of life or death for a lot of
people. “Signing up as a donor is
something you should do.”
Tahee (she did not state her surname)
finds that it is necessary to be a
donor. It is a social matter that can
help people. She says, “It is better to
be clear about it if you do not want
to be a donor.” She will advise her
friends and relatives to register,
though. She jokingly says, “I will
push them.” (B.P.)
National Museum Palace Het Loo
Palace Het Loo is a palace of more than three
hundred years old and has been open to the
public since 1984. This former royal residence is
located close to the town of Apeldoorn. It’s
worth visiting the palace at any time of year;
besides it only takes ten euro per person. It can
be reached by bus from Apeldoorn station.
The palace
The luxurious interiors of the palace
are furnished with items of furniture,
objects and paintings, which give an
impression of how the Dutch royal
family lived here for three centuries.
Also the authentic fabrics used for
the wall coverings and windows are
quite extraordinary.
Stables and coach houses
In the stables there are carriages,
sleighs and vehicles that once
belonged to various members of the
royal family. In the summer, horses
can still be seen in the left-hand
stables, which can accommodate 88
horses. The coach house collection
contains a state Berlin coach and a
state chariot, sports cars, shooting
and service carriages dating from
the first half of the 18 th to the
beginning of the 20 th century.
The garden
This French classical garden with its
fountains and box-lined flower-beds
still breathes the atmosphere of the
17 th century. If you want to enjoy
the best bird’s eye view from the
palace roof, you should go in June,
July and August.
Recommendations
1 A must see is the ‘A Royal Photo
Album’ exhibition. It can be seen in
the right-hand stables. About 250
photographs present the lives of the
royal family in Dutch society in the
twentieth century. It also gives a
good impression of the changing fashions
in the various decades.
2 Not to be missed either is the
Royal Café. In the main building,
there is a cozy royal café on the
ground floor. In winter times, it’s a
delight to take a seat in the café
and order a cup of hot chocolate
with a free round orange chocolate
bar. (SW)