Presumed Consent
An estimated 8,000 people in the UK need an organ transplant but only 3,000 operations are carried out each year. About 1,000 people in the UK die every year while waiting for a transplant.
When you see these figures we need to question the current organ donor opt-in system and look towards a system of ‘presumed consent’, which would mean that unless people opted out of the register or family members objected, hospitals would be allowed to use their organs for transplants.
I’ve been campaigning in favour of a Presumed Consent system since my election. This system would enhance the right of an individual to decide what will happen to their body after they die and remove the burden of making a decision about Organ Donation from families already dealing with the traumatic death of a loved one. That’s why I was pleased to hear the recent announcement by the One Wales Government to apply for the powers to bring about a system of soft-presumed consent for organ donation in Wales. The announcement is a result of years of campaigning by organisations and individuals throughout Wales
This statement of principle by the One Wales Government is a key milestone in our attempts to bring about a system of presumed consent in Wales. This means that if the request for power is successful, then we in Wales could take a lead and introduce a system whereby individuals would have to opt out of an organ donation system, as opposed to the current situation of having to opt-in. This statement follows an in-depth consultation process undertaken by the Assembly Government across Wales involving key organisations and individuals. Research suggests that 90 percent of the general population are in favour of organ donation, yet recent figures show that only 28 percent actually get round to doing anything about it by signing up as an organ donor.
Please visit this website for more information regarding organ donation.
www.donatewales.org/campaign/
We must now start to bridge the gap between people wanting to sign up and those actually doing it. Every one of us has the power to send a message of hope and support to patients in Wales by joining the Organ Donor Register. I have, and I would urge you to take two minutes to sign-up. The brutal reality is that people in Wales are dying as a result and unless more people take that all important vital step of signing-up and telling their loved ones about their wishes then more and more people will needlessly die waiting for a transplant.
Far too many families in Wales are watching a brother, sister, mother or father waiting for a life-saving transplant, when the answer is staring us in the face. We need more organ donors, and presumed consent is proven to work.