VICTORY!
PM pledges to change law on organ donation 500 lives a year saved as Mirror wins campaign
THERESA May will bring in an organ donor opt-out law to save 500 lives a year.
The move yesterday is a victory for the Daily Mirror’s campaign to change the rules.
Transplant boy Max Johnson, nine, said: “I can’t believe it.”
MIRROR transplant boy Max Johnson last night praised the decision to change organ donor laws that could stop patients dying needlessly on waiting lists.
The delighted nine-year-old, who was one of the faces of our relentless campaign to save lives, said the historic move will give hope to thousands whose only chance of life is a new heart, liver, lung or kidney.
He spoke after Theresa May announced at the Tory conference yesterday she would be changing the law from one where donors need to be registered to an opt-out system.
Doctors, health campaigners, patients and MPs also hailed the Mirror’s stunning victory, that could save 500 people from death a year.
Max, whose life was saved by a heart transplant after he waited seven months for a donor organ, had appeared on our front page appealing to the PM to save him and countless others by changing the law.
He said: “I cannot believe it. I thought it would take so much longer… but yes. I know it will help other children like me.
“I hope they call it Max’s Law, it would be fun if they did that. Do you think Theresa May saw my picture in the Mirror? I hope so because that is why I did it. I wanted people to realise what it is like to be on the waiting list.
“I wanted to help others waiting for a new organ like me.”
Max, who had cardiomyopathy, is now back with parents Emma and Paul in Winsford, Cheshire, after his operation in August at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Civil servant Paul, 44, said: “The announcement is a testimony to the Mirror campaign. We are proud to be part of it. You kept it going, kept the pressure on those in power.
“It gave real wind to the sails for change. I think Theresa May listened. I take my hat off to her. But the real kudos is for the Mirror, the campaign has been absolutely superb. I think Max put the human face on it.”
Another patient desperately needing a transplant, Sonia Alves from Bournemouth, also praised the decision, sparked by our two-year Change The Law For Life campaign. The mum-ofthree, 37, has had kidney failure since she was 14. She said: “I have dialysis every day, I’ve been waiting for a transplant for almost three years. The change will hopefully mean I get that transplant I need and can be a mum, not a kidney patient.” Bob King’s life was saved when he had a heart transplant 20 years ago. The 72-year-old, of Rustington, West Sussex, said: “This will save so many lives. When families are faced with this horrible decision at the worst time it will make all the difference. It’s tremendous.” Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson backed our drive and put forward a Private Members’ Bill calling for a change to the law. He said: “It’s great to see the Government have reacted to the Mirror’s campaign
and I’m sure many, many lives will be saved as a result.” Fellow MP Dan Jarvis added: “I must pay tribute to the tireless work of the Mirror, the family of Max, and campaigners like Paul Flynn and Geoffrey Robinson.
“This shows what a difference a campaigning newspaper can make.”
Kidney Care UK called the decision to change the law “a truly momentous day for the 25,000 people in England on dialysis with kidney failure”.
Policy director Fiona Loud said: “One person dies every day whilst waiting for a kidney transplant and this change has the potential to be both life-saving and life-changing.”
British Heart Foundation chief executive Simon Gillespie added: “This commitment to a soft opt-out system is a commitment to ending the agonising pain felt by families who risk losing a loved one while they wait for a donor. This change can’t come soon enough for patients.” British Medical Association chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “The decision to introduce an opt-out system for organ donation is excellent news and has the potential to save many lives.
“The health service must have the resources to ensure transplants can be performed when they are needed.” The law change means England will follow Wales with an opt-out system. Scotland also has plans to change. Mrs May hailed our front page story on September 4 that revealed 457 Brits could have been saved if there was such a system in place. The PM said: “Our ability to help people who need transplants is limited by the number of donors. There are 6,500 on the transplant list today.
“So to address this challenge that affects all communities in our country, we will change that system. Shifting the balance of presumption in favour of organ donation.”
She will launch a consultation on the issue before changing the system.
A No 10 spokesman said: “It will propose to automatically enter everyone on the donor register, unless they decide to opt out.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem boss Sir Vince Cable both backed our Change The Law For Life campaign at their party conferences.