Organ Donation

One of things Gordon has not been slow to sanction is the use of taskforces, commissions and special reports to defer decisions...

The UK Organ Donation Taskforce has reported back today on the idea of 'presumed consent' i.e. that people's organs can be used for transplant unless they opt out. Their report said that "assuming organs could be used unless people opted out was unlikely to boost donation rates" They also voiced concerns over the patient trust issue with doctors.

The current situation is that people have to sign-up to the organ donation register in order to consent to their organs being used in the event of their death for transplant. There are currently almost 16 million people on the donor register.

Over the next couple of years, NHS Blood and Transplant will be raising public awareness of the issue in the hope of attracting more donations. As of today, since the 1st April 2008, 565 people have donated organs, 1,623 people have received transplants, but there are still 7,929 people waiting for transplants.

But instead of going with the recommendations of the task force, Brown has refused to rule-out a future change in the law i.e. presumed consent. I have no doubt that Gordon has the best of intentions in trying to increase organ donation, but it demonstrates once more, that he is unprepared to listen to the experts and always knows best.

You can sign the UK Transplant register here.