In Great Britain, the NHS Blood and Transplant(NHSBT) service, which handles organ donation, has announced that it will no longer ask the relatives of the deceased for their consent in cases where the potential donors are listed in the NHS register.
In fact, in almost one out of seven cases, families oppose the removal of their relative’s organs even if the person in question signed up to the donor list from 2010 onwards.
To justify this change, the NHSBT hopes to potentially increase the number of donors by 9%. For Sally Johnson, Head of the NHSBT, it is a case of adopting “a more honest approach”, which respects the wishes of the persons concerned in terms of organ donation.
Families can still oppose the decision but they must explain their objection in writing.
BBC (14/01/2016)