Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hope for Max..
A day after Mirror calls for opt-out donor rule to help 9-yr-old, PM May says: WE ARE LOOKING AT IT
THERESA May has given Max Johnson hope by revealing she is considering updating the law on organ donation.
Our Change the Law for Life campaign, which has been running for two years, is calling for a system whereby people would be classed as having agreed to donate their organs after death, unless they opt out. Wales brought it in 18 months ago. Scotland is set to follow suit. But there is no such system in Northern Ireland. Theresa May is now contemplating introducing it in England. Asked yesterday about the Mirror’s campaign, the Prime Minister’s deputy spokeswoman said: “We are keeping a close eye on how the changes in Wales and Scotland are affecting donation rates in considering whether we would change our policy.” We told yesterday of nine-year-old Max Johnson who needs a new heart. Presented with the story and asked when England would follow in the footsteps of Wales and Scotland, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Mirror: “We’re looking at it.” The revelation that the Government is considering the change came as scores of big names backed our campaign and thousands of people signed our opt-out petition. Former footballers Gary Lineker and Robbie Savage are among the stars who are supporting us. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “I wholeheartedly back this campaign. “Every day people are dying or suffering pain and stress whilst waiting for lifesaving transplants. The delay and shortage of donors could be dramatically altered if we made this simple but significant change to the way people are registered as donors. “I urge the Government to change the law in England to bring us in line with Wales and Scotland to help improve survival rates and the lives of those suffering from treatable diseases and other conditions.” Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom said altering the law “would be lifechanging for many people”. Last night 6,335 desperately ill patients remained on the waiting list for an organ - including 182 children. Another 3,000 need a transplant but are too sick to be on the list. Three people die every day in the UK waiting for a transplant. Former Tory Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter also believes an opt-out system is needed. He said: “It’s clearly a difficult issue but I’ve increasingly come to the conclusion that both from my medical experience and from seeing the difficulties of getting people to come forward voluntarily as organ donors, we need to change things to make sure there are opportunities for people who need organs to get them. “If you can have the opportunity when you have died to do one last thing in this world which can be a force for good – to give some of your organs to somebody else – lots of people thinking about it would probably be happy to do that. “Having an opt-out system has been used in other countries to increase the number of organs available. “The current system doesn’t work particularly well because often it leaves very difficult conversations to be had at the bedside with the family of someone who has lost their life.”
The shortage of donors could be dramatically altered if we made this simple change JEREMY CORBYN LENDS HIS SUPPORT TO OUR CAMPAIGN
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: “I want to thank the Mirror for the Change the Law for Life campaign and offer my and my party’s full support... “With public support and so many patients in need, I believe it is time that we changed the law.” Yesterday more than 2,000 people signed our petition to the PM. Doctors and health officials are among those who want the law change in England and Northern Ireland. Professor Roy Thomas, chief executive of the Kidney Wales Foundation, signed and said: “Having campaigned in Wales, we see the results here. Saving lives and giving hope to thousands waiting is part of humanity.” Max Johnson’s mum Emma said she is delighted with the Mirror campaign. Max is on the urgent list for a donor heart. His heart is so weakened by a life threatening condition that he relies on a mechanical pump – a “bridge to transplant” – to keep him alive. Emma, of Winsford, Cheshire, said she hoped the Mirror’s push will bring about an urgent change in the law. She added: “This campaign could even indirectly result in Max getting an organ and other people waiting for transplants getting an organ.”