'Presumed consent' would end organ shortage

Alison Hardie

More than 5,500 people in Britain are waiting for an organ transplant that could save or dramatically improve their lives.

Like Luke and Ashley Campbell, most are waiting for a kidney, while others are in desperate need of a heart, lung or liver transplant.

The British Medical Association is calling for an urgent overhaul in the law that surrounds donation, urging the government to accept their argument that "presumed consent" is the only way to reverse the current shortage.

This would mean that the onus is on an individual to sign a form saying they refuse permission for their organs to be used for transplants when they are dead.

If the form is not signed, the organs can then be used by surgeons in transplant operations.

The Scottish Executive dropped a proposal to introduce a scheme of presumed consent in Scotland, which had been proposed by the Ochil MSP Dr Richard Simpson.

The British Medical Association wants a "soft" system of presumed consent in which relatives' views are also taken into account.

Instead of being asked to consent to donation, they would be informed that their relative had not opted out of donation and, unless they objected, the donation would proceed.

But in June, an attempt to make organ donation automatic unless people opted out, thus increasing the number of organs available, was defeated at Westminster when Labour ordered its back-benchers to vote it down.

Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, has made it clear that he recognises the issue is a serious one.

Last month, he held a reception at Downing Street to urge more people to donate.

There is a desperate need for more donors. Last year, nearly 400 people died while waiting for a transplant.

One in ten people waiting for a heart transplant will die and many others will lose their lives before they even get on to the waiting list.

Official figures show that transplants have fallen by almost a quarter over the past five years.

According to UK Transplant, the NHS body which co-ordinates transplantation services, 198 organ transplants were carried out in Scotland in 2003-4, compared to 255 in 1999-2000 - a drop of 22.3 per cent.

The average waiting time for a kidney transplant is 555 days, an increase of nearly four months on the 1999 waiting time of 441 days.

Copyright © 2004 Scotsman.com

This article posted December 14, 2004.