Presumed Consent is not “Consent”.

Since 1999, the British Medical association has been campaigning for a “presumed consent” system for organ donation, where all people will be assumed to be willing to donate their organs in the event of their death unless they have opted out of the scheme. Currently, people in Britain must actively join the NHS Organ Donor Register. According to NHS Organ Donation statistics, 3,709 organ transplants were carried out in the UK last year, while an additional 3,099 people had their sight restored through a cornea transplant. Many supporters of the presumed consent system believe it would boost organ-donation rates and therefore offer a better quality of life to the approximate 8,000 people still on the waiting list.

However, critics of the scheme claim that it could damage the trust patients place in medical staff. Dr Sharon Blackford, a dermatologist from Swansea, challenged the support for presumed consent by claiming that a move to presumed consent could damage trust in doctors. “If someone is ill in intensive care, families may feel doctors just want to harvest the organs”.

Under the British Medical Association’s suggestions, families would still be able to object to organ donation even if their relative had not opted out of the system. Ultimately, however, surely this would mean that the “consent” being given were that of the family, not of the individual? While the scheme may encourage people to be less apathetic in their decision to donate, or not donate, organs, to presume consent is surely necessarily not to ask for it. Instead of forcing people who do not wish to donate their organs to opt out, perhaps more should be done to educate and encourage individuals who may wish to become organ donors to take the time to do so.

For more information about organ donation, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk