Department of Health, Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: Proposals for revised legislation (including establishment of the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos) (Dec 2006), Cm 6989
The UK-wide Organ Donation Taskforce, chaired by Elisabeth Buggins, was established in 2006 to identify barriers to organ donation and recommend actions needed to increase organ donation and procurement within the current legal framework.
Why should we respect the wishes which individuals may have about how their body is treated after death? Reflecting on how and why the law respects the bodies of the living, we argue that we must also respect the ‘dead’. We contest the relevance of the argument ‘the dead have no interests’, rather we think that the pertinent argument is ‘the living have interests in what happens to their dead bodies’. And, we advance arguments why we should also respect the wishes of the relatives of the deceased regarding what happens to the bodies of their loved ones. In our analysis, we use objections to organ and tissue donation for conscientious reasons (often presented as religious reasons) to show why the living can have interests in their dead bodies, and those of their dead relatives, and why these interests should be respected.
This independent report from the Organ Donation Taskforce about the potential impact of changing to an opt out system of consent provides an in-depth examination of this complex question. The Taskforce has had discussions and engagement with academics, health professionals, members of the public, organ recipients, families of donors and faith leaders and the report reflects the wide range of views heard.
While clearly a lot of work had gone into producing this report, a major concern for the British Medical Association is the way the report itself, and members of the Taskforce in presenting the report, discussed the evidence about the impact of presumed consent on donation rates.
Twenty-two people have given a kidney to a stranger since the practice became possible in the UK two years ago, the body in charge of such donations says. Ten put themselves forward in the first year and 15 in the second - three of these have not yet undergone surgery.
The government says it will ban all private transplants of organs from dead donors in the UK. The move comes after media reports of overseas patients paying to get onto the waiting list for organs donated by British people. An independent report said organs were scarce and no one should be able to pay for transplants, to ensure NHS patients did not miss out. Surgeons said it should reassure people organs went to those in most need.