Opt-out law comes into effect

Max and Keira’s Law – the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act, has come into effect on 20th May 2020.

Under the new law, all adults in England are considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they record a decision not to donate (known as ‘opting out’) or are in one of the excluded groups.

Those excluded will be people under 18, those who lack the mental capacity to understand the new arrangements and take the necessary action; people who have lived in England for less than 12 months; those who are not living here voluntarily and those who have nominated someone else to make the decision on their behalf.

In cases, where the individual hasn’t expressed a decision, specialist nurses will support families to make a decision, based on what their loved ones would have wanted. If the decision is not to donate, this will be honoured and upheld.

You can find out more at the NHS page dedicated to this law change:

https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/uk-laws/organ-donation-law-in-england/

Below is the official statement from Mandy Venters, chairperson of Live Life Give Life:

From 20th May 2020, organ donation in England moves to an opt-out system, meaning that all adults in England will be considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die, unless they have recorded a decision not to donate.

Whilst this is certainly progress, there is a real danger that, as a result, people may think that there is no longer a shortage of donors. It remains vitally important for individuals to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and inform their loved ones of their wishes in relation to becoming an organ donor. Relative consent is far greater when this knowledge has been shared – or someone has signed the register – and it also removes a painful decision for them at a stressful time. In Wales, the percentage of people signing the Organ Donor Register rose from 34% to 40% after their law changed to opt-out; this would have contributed positively to the rate of donation.

At Live Life Give Life we would be delighted if we could switch our work from focusing on raising awareness of organ donation to our other projects. These include supporting transplant patients and their families and sponsoring research to improve the number of usable organs available for donation; we feel we can play a very useful role for many years to come. We welcome people reviewing our accounts as they demonstrate that over 95% of our income is spent directly on our work since our charity continues to be run largely by volunteers. To find out more about our charity, please visit www.livelifegivelife.org.uk.