Organ ‘opt-out’ donation system in England by 2020

A new “opt-out” system for organ donation will come into effect in England by 2020, in a move the government says will save hundreds of lives a year.

“Max’s Law” means every adult will be automatically presumed to be organ donors unless they have specifically recorded their decision not to be.

The current system in England requires people to opt in to allow their organs, including eyes, heart and kidneys, to be donated.

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The law, which will be voted on by MPs when Parliament returns in September, is named after 10-year-old Max Johnson, 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.

It is estimated that three people die each day in need of an organ transplant. There are roughly 5,100 people on the waiting list in England and the government estimates that the new system has the potential to save 700 extra lives a year.

Those under the age of 18, people with limited mental capacity and others who have not lived in England for at least a year prior to their death will be exempt from the scheme.

New systems to record an individual’s faith and ensure the NHS consults religious leaders or family members on any traditions that need to be respected will be in effect from December 2018.

The law change follows a consultation last year which showed the public are overwhelmingly in favour of organ donation, but only a minority have registered as organ donors. Research found that 82% of people in England support organ donation, but only 37% have indicated so on the register.

Grieving families are given the choice if a patient’s wish to donate is not known, “but less than half give consent for the organs to be donated” says The Metro.

The move would bring England in line with Wales, which has had an opt-out system in place since 2015, and Scotland which also plans to introduce a similar scheme.

However, Wales’s opt-out system for organ donation “has not increased the number of donors, raising questions over whether the change will have the desired effect” says the Sunday Times.

Fiona Loud, policy director of Kidney Care UK, told BBC Breakfast the experience in Wales showed the new system depended on widespread public support.

This was echoed by Jackie Doyle-Price, Secretary of State for Mental Health and Inequalities, who said: “We need to address myths and misconceptions around donation, and we will only do this by having informed debate and dialogue, which I hope will be fostered by these proposals.”