Campaign launched to change U.K. organ donation laws
- In the last year alone, over 400 patients have died while waiting for an organ
- A campaign led by NQ reporter Harry Pickford is calling for a change to U.K. organ donor laws
Over 80% of adults in England say they would, or would consider, donating their organs, but only 37% of the UK population have registered as donors on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
This gap could be helped to be closed by changing the system by which people are added to the Organ Donor Register. Under the current system, potential donors have to sign up voluntarily, or ‘opt-in’. Under the new system, people would be added automatically, and they can choose to have their name removed (‘opt-out’) if they wish.
With the current system in place, a patient will usually have to wait for years until they match with a donor. During this time a number of complications can occur and a person might not be able to wait long enough to receive an organ.
In the last year alone, over 400 patients died while they were waiting for an organ. This new system could drastically reduce the amount of time that patients are waiting for an organ, and, crucially, save lives.
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#OutNotIn