New bill should boost organ donations

Stage one debate on Human Tissue Bill hears "opt-in" system will be strengthened

News, 1 December 2005

New legislation should mean an increase in the number of organ donors, the Scottish Parliament heard yesterday.

The Human Tissue Bill is intended to strengthen the "opt-in" system so that what people say they want to happen to their bodies after death is respected, but that where this wish is not formally recorded, there are arrangements for asking their next of kin.

The proposed bill was debated in the Scottish Parliament yesterday. MSPs heard that the Executive shares the British Medical Association's concerns about the shortage of organ donations for transplantation.

Deputy Health Minister Lewis Macdonald said: "We have consulted widely over the past three years to ensure that all options and views have been taken into consideration as we fully recognise the sensitive nature of the legislation.

"That is why the bill will seek to modernise the legal framework by strengthening the existing system based on giving effect to people's wishes. We firmly belive that building upon the current "opt-in" system is the right way forward for Scotland."

Jane McCready, the Royal College of Nursing Scotland's chair, said an "opt-out" system was wrong in principle and practically unworkable.

She said: "Previous scandals involving the retention of children's organs have made it clear that health professionals should never presume consent. Neither should we interpret a person's silence as agreement to donate. We cannot allow apathy to become the basis for such an important decision."