Welsh people encouraged to choose organ donation

The Welsh Government has unveiled its latest TV advertising campaign to encourage more people to sign the Organ Donor Register, as part of Organ Donation Week.

Wales adopted a soft-opt out system of consent, where if a person has not registered any organ donation decision, then their consent can be deemed in 2015. This has helped increase the consent rate in Wales to the highest in the UK.  

Figures from NHS Blood and Transplant show that nearly half of people in Wales have now registered their organ donation decision on the Organ Donor Register. However, despite the opt-in system, However, the ability to opt in on the Organ Donor Register has always been there and is something the government and NHS wants to encourage people to do.

Sarah Crosby, a specialist nurse for organ donation, said: “Because of the soft opt out law in Wales, we can assume consent unless a person has said otherwise. This is really helpful when having conversations with families, but we do find some relatives are still unsure in these situations. This is why, if you feel passionately about being an organ donor and want your family to be sure of what you want, then I would encourage you to go online and opt in.

“Last year 24 people in Wales died waiting for an organ, so it’s an important message to get across that joining the Organ Donor Register and telling your loved ones is the best way of making everyone aware of your decision.”

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said: “It’s encouraging to see that Wales has paved the way in organ donation legislation and both England and Scotland have followed our lead with opt-out legislation coming into force in 2020. Despite many people being aware of the legislation in Wales, we must continually think of new ways to ensure as many people as possible are doing all they can to make their decision clear to their friends and family.

“There are certain times in our lives when we are prompted to think about organ donation, like when we renew our driving licenses, or when visiting the doctors.  We want to create as many opportunities as possible for people to reflect on and talk about their decision, and if they want, to register that on the Organ Donor Register.  We hope this advertising campaign will do just that. We’re extremely proud of the campaign and we’re looking forward to seeing it on our TVs, social media and in print making sure as many people as possible start chatting about organ donation.”