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Is it time for presumed consent
for organ donation?

Since the current organ donation register is unable to meet increasing demands of patients, the Prime Minister is calling for a national debate for an immediate reform.

-nearly 8,000 people on the waiting list

-increasing rate about 11% a year

-more than 1,000 people died while on the waiting list every year

Source:UK Transplant

Introducing presumed consent is the suggestion made by the Organ Donation Taskforce who was set up by the government in 2006 to replace the current “opt in” procedure.

Presumed consent is also commonly known as “opt out” system, which means that people would be presumed a donor unless they sign up to reject it or their family is strongly against it.

According to the British Medical Association, presumed consent countries, such as Spain , have roughly 25-30% higher donation rates than informed consent countries.

Listen here to find out why we should support presumed consent:

Gordon Brown has backed the suggestion to introduce the new system, but many people doubt whether presumed consent is acceptable in the UK .

Many concerns are being taken into account by the medical experts from cultural, legal, administrative and organisational sides.

And why we should keep the current system:

The latest discussion will last until this summer, and a report on presumed consent will be released by the organ donation taskforce to help decide whether the system will be implemented.