Study raises questions over opt-out register

A new study has suggested that an opt-out organ donation register in England may not increase donation figures as some expect.

The research, conducted by Queen Mary University London, says that NHS Blood and Transplant's claim that the new donation policy will not automatically suppoort an increase in the number of organs available as relatives and next of kin could be less sure of their loved one's wishes.

Due to commence in 2020, consent is presumed under an opt-out service unless family members decide otherwise. However, the international study, which involved nearly 1,300 people, found that a donor's preference was deemed to be stronger when they had decided to opt-in, rather than when presumed consent was involved.

This is actually supported by data in Wales, where an opt-out service has been running since 2015, with the number of donors having not increased in that period.

It is reported that, while eight in ten people support organ donation, only one third of those have expressed that desire to their families.

Dr Magda Osman, from Queen Mary University of London, said: "To help increase actual rates of organ donation, we need more transplant co-ordinators working with families to help them understand the issues before being faced with a monumental and distressing decision.

"We also need to offer people a way to indicate explicitly what they wish to do. This should involve an expressed statement of intention if their wish is to donate, or an expressed statement of intention if there is an objection to donate. This reduces the ambiguity in trying to infer what someone wanted to do when it comes to donating their organs."

There are surrently more than 5,000 people on the transplant waiting list in England.