It is easy to submit a living will and an organ donation testament in MyKanta. In addition to submitting your living will and organ donation testament in MyKanta, it is a good idea to tell your loved ones about your decisions. The declarations of intent stored in MyKanta are available throughout health care services and can be accessed without consent to data sharing.
Living will
A living will means that you have declared your intent regarding your future treatment in the event that you are unable to participate in making decisions about your treatment, such as if you are unconscious, have reduced functional capacity, or for equivalent reasons. With a living will, you can specify matters related to your treatment and express your wishes on what is important in life.
Submit a living will as follows:
- Log in to MyKanta at kanta.fi. You can identify yourself using online banking codes, for instance.
- In the menu, go to the ‘Hoitotahto’ (Living will) page.
- Enter your living will in MyKanta.
- There is no specific form for a living will. You can create a free-form living will or use the template forms found on the websites of The Alzheimer Society of Finland (in Finnish) or Terveyskirjasto (pdf, in Finnish).
- In the living will, you can define your wishes regarding matters such as pain management, resuscitation, or how you would like your values and beliefs to be taken into consideration.
- Save your living will in text format. You can also print it from MyKanta.
The living will can be modified later in MyKanta on the ‘Hoitotahto’ (Living will) page, or you can delete it completely.
It is not possible to import text as an attachment, such as a PDF file, into the ‘Hoitotahto’ (Living will) section of MyKanta. However, you can import text from elsewhere by copying, for example. Please note, however, that if you copy text from another word processing program to MyKanta, it may leave “hidden” characters that prevent saving.
The living will is visible to health care services
A living will submitted in MyKanta will be accessible by health care professionals. The living will obliges healthcare personnel to act accordingly.
Organ donation testament
An organ donation testament is your declaration of intent that indicates whether your organs and tissues may be used after your death for transplantation to treat another person.
According to Finnish law, the organs and tissues of a brain-dead person can be used for the benefit of another person if the donating person did not object to this when alive. In such situations, health care personnel should seek to determine the person’s possible will to donate their organs, so it is a good idea to have the document in writing and easily accessible.
Submit an organ donation testament as follows:
- Log in to MyKanta at kanta.fi. You can identify yourself using online banking codes, for instance.
- In the menu, go to the ‘Elinluovutustahto’ (Organ donation testament) page.
- The page asks if you are willing to donate your organs and tissues for transplantation after your death. Answer ‘Kyllä’ or ‘Ei’ (Yes or No). If you select Yes, you will be able to fill in more information about your organ donation if you wish.
- Submit the organ donation testament. You can also print it from MyKanta.
The organ donation testament can be modified later in MyKanta on the ‘Elinluovutustahto’ (Organ donation testament) page.