Should England adopt an opt-out organ donation system?
Yes
Donating organs is a powerful way to save lives. Over 50,000 people in the UK today are only alive due to an organ transplant. There are approx. 6,500 people on the active transplant waiting list. Around 1,000 patients die each year while waiting for a transplant.
- In countries with mature opt out systems, typically many more families support donation. In Spain, for example, fewer than 20% of families refuse to donate compared to 37% in the UK last year.
- Health Minister, Jackie Doyal-Price said the Deemed Consent Bill backed by MPs on 24th February could “secure an additional 100 donors a year, which could lead to the saving of 200 extra lives.”
NHS research has found that 91% of family members agree to organ donation if their relative is on the organ donation register, compared to only 47% when the deceased has not signed the registry.
If you would be willing to take an organ to save your own life, you should be willing to give one.
No
An opt-out system would make very little difference, as approximately 600,000 people die in the UK each year but only around 1% are eligible to donate, as eligibility is mainly restricted by dying in a hospital equipped to remove organs within 20 minutes after circulation stops.
- Wales adopted an opt-out organ donation system in 2015 and a study published in December revealed last year there were just 20 extra deceased organ donors as a result of the opt-out system.
- Mr Keith Rigg, consultant transplant surgeon at Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust said it was “unlikely that opt-out legislation will deliver the necessary improvements in organ donation and transplantation rates alone.”
Claire Williment, NHS Chief responsible for transplants predicted switching to a system of presumed consent may only yield 100 extra donors each year and that opt-out can only work as part of a wider strategy.
Every individual has the right to make up their own mind about organ donation.
