Opt-out organ donation 'in place by 2020' for England

From the BBC

5 August 2018

A new opt-out system for organ donation will be in place by 2020 in England, if Parliament approves "Max's Law". Under the plans detailed by ministers, adults will be presumed to be organ donors unless they have specifically recorded their decision not to be. The government said it would save up to 700 lives each year. In the UK in 2017, 411 people died before the right donor was found, and more than 5,000 people are currently on the waiting list in England. A similar opt-out system has been in place in Wales since 2015. Scotland plans to introduce a similar scheme and Northern Ireland has also expressed an interest. "Max's Law" is named after Max Johnson, from Cheshire, who was saved by a heart transplant. His search for a suitable heart was followed in a series of front-page stories in the Daily Mirror, as the newspaper campaigned for the change in the law. Last year, Theresa May wrote to the 10-year-old, saying she chose the name after she heard his "inspirational story".

The legislation was subsequently introduced last year, and will return to the House of Commons in the autumn to be voted on. If passed, it is expected to come into effect in England in spring 2020 - because the timetable for its introduction will allow for a year of "transition" to the new law. The government said it would also encourage people to discuss, with their families, the issue of whether they would want to be a donor in the event of their death. Fiona Loud, policy director of Kidney Care UK, told BBC Breakfast the experience in Wales, where donations did not initially increase, showed the new system depended on widespread public support. "We must have a full, consistent public education system with faith groups, schools, colleges, universities, and with the public as well," she said. She added the new system would involve a "soft opt-out", where families could override the presumption in favour of donation if they strongly believed their dead relative would not have wanted it. Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said introducing an opt-out system in England would reflect the views of the general public better. He said: "This will also ease the agonising pain felt by many families who risk losing a loved one while they wait for an organ. It's still really important for all of us to have conversations with our loved ones about organ donation so our wishes can be met if the worst should happen."

[Ok, I’m probably going to be somewhat controversial here and completely disagree with the idea of ‘presumed consent’. The very concept honestly makes my blood boil. OK, when I’d be giving the organs up I’d be dead and wouldn’t really care if they fed me to pigs but that’s not the point. This much abused body I walk around in is mine. I own it. If I want to donate its remains to others after I die that’s fine. It’s more than fine it’s admirable – but I’m not going to be ordered to do it. Of course people should be encouraged to donate after death. Advertising campaigns should be produced. You could even pay people before they die to donate organs complete with contractual obligations. But I am not a walking organ factory. Frankly, the idea of presuming the consent of 27+ MILLION adults to save 700 lives a year is farcical in the extreme. As is the idea put forward that legalised presumed consent brings the policy more in line with public opinion. Surely if public opinion was so in favour of organ donation there would be no need for the change in the law. The NHS would be awash in organs and would be flying them out across the globe to those in need. Yet again, rather than fixing a problem (and I agree it is a problem) they go for the easy solution and legislate. Of course, when it doesn’t work, they just make organ donation compulsorily 5-10 years later…..]