Should the law change marché des objets connectés

I WAS disappointed by Dominic Lawson’s reaction to the Bill seeking to introduce presumed consent for organ donation in England. My wife Carol inherited polycystic kidney disease, but for medical reasons, neither I nor any other family member could donate a kidney, so it looked as though she would die young. Unexpectedly, she received a call in 2010 that a kidney was available, and this has transformed her health and life. In countries such as Belgium which has presumed consent, medical staff are spared the worst aspects of the time-consuming and emotionally traumatic process of establishing whether the deceased’s organs can be used to save other lives. Our daughter, aged 39, has inherited the same disease, and so we will continue to do all we can to support the introduction of opt-out organ donation.

PAUL GOULD, Bristol.

WOULD those who object to presumed consent to organ donation feel the same if a family member needed a transplant to save their life and no organ was available due to a shortage of donors?

MIKE DURAND, St Buryan, Cornwall.

NOT all MPs acquiesced to the Private Member’s Bill on organ donation. In the debate, I stated: ‘. . . 80 per cent of British society support organ donation, but 20 per cent do not. I want to speak on behalf of that 20 per cent . . .’ There are issues surrounding the point of death, the place of death, the type of organs removed and whether ‘deemed consent’ is genuine consent.

This provokes not only moral but also possible legal consequences. Vigorous safeguards must ensure the state does not assume control of its citizens’ bodies. If this does not occur, a vote will be forced on the issue.

MATTHEW OFFORD, Conservative MP for Hendon. IF ENGLAND decides to adopt the policy of having to opt out of organ donation, I hope they have a better system than in Wales. I opted out online and received a patronising letter expressing sorrow at my decision and implying that my reason for opting out must be because I believed myths about organ donation. I hope there is security in place to prevent anyone else from logging in and amending my decision.

J. DAVIES, Mold, Flintshire.

IF RELATIVES block one in seven transplants in cases where the dead family member was on the national organ donor register, why not end this right of veto? A family’s grief should not stop the deceased’s wishes with regard to their own body being carried out. This would produce many more organs for donation without the state presuming control over our bodies.

ADEYEMI BANJO, London SE15.