Opt-out organ donation starts in 2020

An opt-out system for organ donation will come into force in Scotland in autumn 2020, the Scottish Government has announced.

Currently, donors must opt in for their organs to be donated.

When the new law comes into force, there will be a presumption of consent for organ donation unless a person has indicated otherwise.

The timeline was announced after the Human Tissue (Authorisation) (Scotland) law received Royal Assent on Thursday. The legislation includes safeguards to ensure organ donations do not go ahead where it would be against patient wishes.

Adults without capacity to understand deemed authorisation, adults resident in Scotland for under a year and children under 16 will not be subject to deemed authorisation and will only be able to donate if they, or someone on their behalf, explicitly authorises it.

Mr Fitzpatrick said: “In Scotland there are an average of more than 500 people waiting for an organ transplant at any one time so it’s important that we do all we can to improve the lives of those on the waiting list.”