MPs will make us all organ donors

THE Government is to press ahead with a radical plan to make almost everyone in England an organ donor unless they opt out.

Ministers say the move – dubbed Max’s Law after a nine-year-old who benefited from a heart transplant – will save hundreds of lives and result in 700 extra transplants a year.

Currently, people must opt in to give consent for their organs to be donated on their death. But from 2020, a new system of automatic consent – unless people opt out – will be introduced.

Under-18s and people who lack the mental capacity to understand the changes will be excluded, as will anyone who has not lived in the UK for at least 12 months before their death.

Officials say the change, which follows a public consultation with 17,000 responses, reflects the views of the majority.

Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price said: ‘By making these changes, we can save as many as 700 more lives every year.’

The move follows the Government’s decision earlier this year to back a Bill introduced by Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson to bring England into line with Wales which already has an opt-out system for consent.

Health chiefs say that three people who need a transplant die each day.

Kidney Care UK policy director Fiona Loud said the plans mean ‘hope and a new future’ for 25,000 dialysis patients in England.

British Heart Foundation chief Simon Gillespie said it would ‘give hope to those waiting for a transplant they so desperately need’.