Consultation needed on organ donation debate

The Health Minister's announcement, to look into changing the law surrounding organ donation in Wales, in particular, the consideration to introducing an opt-out system, is a good move.

For many years now we've backed the idea of a “soft” opt-out system. There is little doubt that such a system would produce a far higher potential donor rate than at present, which is far too low at 22%. Experience of other European countries that have already introduced an opt-out scheme have proven this to be the case. More than 500 people in Wales are still waiting for transplants and one person dies each day in the UK, waiting.

A “soft” opt-out system involves people having the opportunity at EVERY stage, to make it known if they do not want to donate their organs after death. Consent to donation would only be presumed, if individuals expressed no objection. Families would also be consulted and donation would not proceed if relatives would be seriously distressed. Doctors would consult with patients’ and their loved ones, every step of the way.

In previous public opinion surveys, the vast majority of people say they would be willing to donate their organs. Unfortunately, this does not translate into people who actually sign the register. This is where the crux of the problem lies. People want to be donors, but for whatever reason, they just don't get round to signing the register. Of course, that would not be an issue with an opt-out system and that is how a change to legislation, could make all the difference to anyone left waiting on the organ donor register.

By making improvements to the transplant infrastructure as well, such as more training, increasing the availability of transplant co-ordinators, reviewing the health service’s capacity to cope and ensuring sufficient availability of intensive and critical care beds, then Wales would really be able to say it had made a significant contribution to saving the lives of those on transplant lists.

Another clear message from this consultation is that far more needs to be done to ensure the public is fully informed about the current system and fully involved in any future changes and decisions.

What do you think about introducing a "soft" opt-out system?

Be interesting to know what doctors' views are on this...

We can't bury our heads in the sand over organ donation

I can understand where Denise Robertson is coming from here, after all, we Brits are well known for our stiff upper lip and not wanting to discuss such issues as death. But at the same time, is that a good enough excuse to stop us saving potentially hundreds of people's lives on the transplant waiting list?

Not so long ago this very issue was on the Welsh political agenda, with the Assembly's Health Committee rejection of the idea of introducing presumed consent for organ donation, in the near future. The reason for the rejection - the committee did not believe that it is currently the most urgent priority and would act as a “distraction”.

BMA Cymru Wales has campaigned for presumed consent for organ donation for some time now.
There is little doubt that a system of presumed consent would produce a far higher potential donor rate than at present, which is far too low at 22%. Experience of other European countries that have introduced presumed consent have demonstrated this. Some 400 people in Wales are still waiting for transplants and one person dies each day in the UK, waiting. The committee has missed an opportunity to shorten the delay for those people waiting desperately for a transplant.


As Denise Robertson herself points out "Every year almost 1,000 people die, either while on the waiting list, or having become so ill they are no longer able to withstand transplant surgery. Each one of us could save a life, maybe more than one, by signing a donor form now and giving away something that one day we will have no use for. We could discuss it with those we love and encourage them to see it as a renewal and not a loss. "

I couldn't have put it better myself, so let's start having a frank and open discussion with our loved ones about presumed consent, however difficult that maybe. Surely it can't be any more difficult than the long and anxious wait for people on the organ donor transplant list?

You can register online for organ donation and the UK Transplant website also gives a lot of useful information to help you decide and to use in discussions with loved ones. As I've already said, it is so important we involve our family, friends and loved ones in our decision - as they would be the ones left to ensure our wishes are met - which is never easy - so we all owe it to them to make sure they are involved in such an important decision.