Organ donation law revolution starts in Wales

Organ donation law revolution starts in Wales

Wales has become the first nation in the UK to introduce a “revolutionary” new system to increase the number of organ donors.

Adults will be regarded as having consented to organ donation unless they have opted out.

More than one million people – 34% of the population – have registered to opt in already and 86,000 have opted out.

Health Minister Mark Drakeford called it a “ground-breaking step which will save lives”.

He paid tribute to the cross-party support for the change in the law, which aims to increase the number of donors by 25%.

In the past year, 14 people died whilst waiting for a transplant in Wales, while there are currently 224 people on the waiting list, including eight children.

The so-called soft opt-out system will now apply in these circumstances:

  • For people aged 18 and over who have lived in Wales for more than 12 months – and who die in Wales
  • A person will become a potential donor either by registering their decision to opt in – as they do currently – or by doing nothing at all, in which case their consent may be deemed
  • If families knew their loved one did not wish to be an organ donor – even if they had not opted out – they will still be able to tell doctors and donation will not take place

In the rest of the UK, the opt-in system still applies, although ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland are likely to be watching what happens in Wales closely.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said it was “law making in Wales at its best”.

Ministers have said more than two-thirds of people in Wales are now aware of the changes and they hoped a “leap in consent rates” would follow.

Mr Drakeford said: “There are many, many people who would be prepared to be organ donors but the knowledge of their wishes is not available at the point where this very unusual set of circumstances is significant.

“The law is just one thing we’re doing; it will be a profound cultural change.

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