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Holyrood opinion poll

With the publication of the interim Calman Report, do you think –
 
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Opt-out system for organ donation to be explored Print E-mail
Thursday, 20 September 2007

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon today welcomed the Secretary of State for Health's decision to ask the UK-wide Organ Donation Task Force to explore the issues around presumed consent. 

Presumed consent makes the assumption that everyone is willing to donate their organs after death for transplantation, unless they register an objection, so is in effect an 'opt-out'system.

Sturgeon said: "We have always welcomed debate on this issue, since such a change would need strong backing by both the public and the health professions before it could be made to work. 

"The Organ Donation Task Force has been exploring the current barriers to transplantation and is therefore well placed to take on this piece of work. 

"Organs available for transplantation are allocated on a UK-wide basis. It is for that reason the Task Force has a UK-wide remit. The work on presumed consent needs to be undertaken across the UK, to avoid the risk of different systems developing in different parts of the UK.

"Those who advocate a strengthening of the current system of opting in, and those who favour a change to a system of presumed consent act on the wish to increase the number of organs, for the sake of all those who are on the waiting list for a new organ. 

"I very much share Alan Johnson's aspiration that organ donation rates in every part of the UK should match the rates in other European countries such as Spain."

Dr Vivienne Nathanson,the British Medical Association's head of ethics and science, also welcomed the news.

"The BMA has been campaigning for a review of organ donation for many years so today’s announcement is very good news indeed. We believe that when the taskforce looks at this issue in detail they will agree with us that a system of presumed consent with safeguards, will help to increase the number of donors available. At least one person dies every day while waiting for an organ transplant and we desperately need to change this.

"Before any changes go ahead however, it is essential that a public information campaign is launched so that people are completely aware of the choices they can make about organ donation.

"It is important that everyone realises that they will not be compelled to donate their organs but simply make their feelings known if they do not want to donate."
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