Law change for organ donors

Radical changes to laws governing organ and tissue donation are being introduced, which may lead to more life-saving transplant operations.

Under the Human Tissue Act 2004, which comes into effect on September 1, relatives will no longer have the right to overrule the wishes of loved ones to donate organs or tissue after their death.

Currently, the wishes of one in ten people who have registered to donate organs are overruled by their families, UK Transplant said.

There are currently 13.5 million on the NHS Organ Donor Register, while other people carry a donor card or have expressed the desire to help people after their death by donating organs.

More than 8,000 people in the UK currently need a transplant, but fewer than 3,000 transplant operations are carried out each year due to the shortage of organs.

Around 400 are estimated to die each year while waiting for a suitable organ to become available.

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. NHS staff are aware that we have a duty to respect the wishes of a patient after their death and if someone has expressed a wish to donate, they should do whatever they can to ensure that those wishes are fulfilled."

The Human Tissue Act will also allow donations from strangers, including "altruistic" donation.

People will also face a maximum sentence of three years in jail, under the Act, for removing and storing human tissue without consent.

These changes were introduced following scandals such as Liverpool's Alder Hey hospital, where organs were removed from the bodies of dead children without the consent of their parents.

The Act will be overseen by a new regulatory body called the Human Tissue Authority, which will issue licenses to places carrying out post-mortems, medical schools and establishments which store tissue for research purposes.

(KMcA/EF)