New law could drive organ donor growth in UK
New legislation on organ donation in the UK could provide a blueprint for the EU in its ongoing public consultation into organ donation. The 'Human Tissue Act' comes into UK law on 1 September, and is likely to give rise to a sharp increase in organ transplants in the UK. The law will tighten the existing legislation against black market organ trafficking and will stop families who object to organ transplants from preventing post-mortem donations. There are not enough organ donations in the EU, and some 40,000 EU citizens are in need of organ donors in order to live normal lives. As Transplant UK, the body that oversees transplants in the UK, points out, the average person will be more likely to need a transplant in life, than be a donor in death. In the UK, when people are killed suddenly or unexpectedly, if they carry a 'donor card', or are registered on a donor register, this tends to justify the use of their organs for transplants. However, existing legislation allows the family of the deceased to prevent donations taking place. The new legislation will shift the legal onus from the family of the deceased to the deceased, and should mean that the 10 per cent of donations that are currently prevented by family members can now go ahead, giving opportunities to those who need transplants. The new legislation could be a convenient test for the EU, which has put proposals for organ donation to public consultation. The shortage of donors is common to both the UK and the EU. Chris Rudge, Transplant and Managing Director of NHS UK Transplant said: 'There is a critical shortage of donated organs and many more people could receive a life-saving transplant with the donor's wishes being given priority. The Human Tissue Act makes it clear that the wishes of the deceased must be put first.' Mr Rudge said: 'There may, nevertheless, be circumstances where it would be inappropriate for donation to go ahead.' This leaves the door open for donations to still be stopped in extreme cases. On the other hand, the legislation now prohibits the removal of tissue, organs or DNA unless there is express permission. The law also now permits 'altruistic' donations from living donors. For researchers, the story is a little different. Consent is essential for tissue research, and some think that there may be an undue administrative burden for researchers, which could limit tissue research.
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United Kingdom