DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 17 November 2008
- Alan Johnson
calls for 25 million people on the organ donor register by 2013 -
An organ donation awareness campaign that will see nearly half
the population recruited on the organ donor register was announced
today by Health Secretary Alan Johnson. He welcomed the Organ
Donation Taskforce Group report, which does not recommend
introducing an opt out system for organ donation in the UK at this time.
The report 'The potential impact of an opt out system in the
UK', published today, has concluded that introducing an opt
out or 'presumed consent' system in the UK at the
present time, whilst having the potential to deliver benefits, may
not increase organ donation rates and might cause significant complications.
The Government is not ruling out a future change in the law, and
may need to revisit this issue if progress against national
objectives is not as swift as it should be.
It is hoped that donor rates will rise from the current 800 to
1,400 per year by March 2013, which would put us on a par with
the best in Europe. On average, each donor can help three people
in need, so this could mean an extra 1,800 people a year get the
chance of the transplant they so desperately need.
£4.5m funding has been made available over the two years
2008-2010 for a major campaign starting in March 2009 to make
people aware of the importance of organ donation.
The Government is firmly committed to seeing organ donation rates
rise significantly and is fully supporting the implementation of
the recommendations in the Taskforce's first report. A large
programme of work is already well underway, which should deliver
the increase in donor rates without the need to change the law.
This work includes:
- Each Trust appointing an organ donation 'champion' to
discuss organ donation with families as part of all end of life
care where appropriate.
- Reimbursing Trusts for donor management activity - the first
payments were made in August. This will encourage staff to
consider the possibility of organ donation.
- Recruiting 63 new donor transplant co-ordinators across the UK
by March 2009
- Establishing a UK-wide network of dedicated organ retrieval
teams across the UK to ensure timely and high quality organ
removal from viable donors.
- Training is already in place for donor transplant
co-ordinators, run by NHS Blood and Transplant.
Health Secretary, Alan Johnson said:
"I am grateful to the Chair of the Taskforce, Elisabeth
Buggins, and all the members for their careful and thorough
examination of this difficult issue. We need to dramatically
increase organ donation but the Government and the NHS can't
achieve this alone. We need a much greater public understanding
that organ donation saves lives.
"The Taskforce has presented a well-balanced analysis of a
substantial body of evidence drawn from a wide range of groups,
including healthcare professionals, organ recipients, donor
families, representatives of faith groups, and members of the public.
"I accept their conclusions and recommendations, and support
the priorities for action they have identified. The Taskforce
conclude that donation rates equivalent to those achievable
through the best presumed consent systems could still be possible
without a change in the legal framework - and I therefore accept
their recommendation that we should aim to achieve these rates
without the complications associated with a change in the legal position.
"The Government wishes to see more progress more quickly to
ensure that UK patients have the best possible chance of getting
the treatment they need. We have therefore set a further challenge
as part of the implementation of the Taskforce's second
report. We would like to see 20 million people registered on the
organ donor register by 2010 working towards 25 million on the
register by 2013.
"If, however, we do not see the number of organ donations
rising and progress is not being made we will revisit the issue of
whether a change in the law is needed."
Notes to editors
1. The Organ Donation Taskforce Report is available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/organdonationtaskforce
2. The Organ Donor Register can be contacted on: 0845 60 60 400.
3. Currently around 8,000 people in the UK need a transplant,
rising by about 8% a year. However only 25% of the population are
on the organ donor register and there are not enough donated
organs to save people's lives in the UK.
4. In 2006, Ministers established an Organ Donation Taskforce,
Chaired by Elisabeth Buggins, Chair of the West Midlands Strategic
Health Authority, to consider options for improvement of organ
donation rates within existing legal framework. The Report was
launched on 16 January 2008 and all its recommendations were
accepted by Ministers.
5. In his 2006 Annual Report "On the state of public
health" published on 17 July 2007, the Chief Medical Officer
recommended that:
* legislation be amended to create an opt-out system for organ
donation
* more opportunities be taken to increase donation in
hospitals and to maximise organ transplantation
* there are
targeted campaigns aimed at increasing organ donation in ethnic
minority populations
6. In the light of this advice, and in recognition of the range
of views on opt out systems and the complex issues they raise,
Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health, asked the Taskforce to:
'examine the potential impact on organ donation of
introducing an "opt out" or presumed consent system in
the UK, having regard to the views of the public and stakeholders
on the clinical, ethical, legal and societal issues, and publish
its findings'.