Wales organ donation bill white paper

8 November 2011

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) welcomes any change that encourages people to discuss and support organ donation and we will work within whatever legislative framework is introduced in any of the four health administrations in the United Kingdom. As the UK Organ Donor Organisation, NHSBT will be involved in implementation of the new policy.

The Welsh Government has involved a wide range of people in developing the White Paper and taken advice from an Expert Reference Group, which included Sally Johnson, NHSBT's Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation and from many stakeholders involved with organ donation and transplantation.

NHSBT looks forward to considering the White Paper and how best to meet the challenges posed by a change to the organ donation system in Wales. As a UK-wide body we will also be considering the implications for the other nations of the UK whose consent system will not be changed by the new legislation.

Research shows that most people in the UK would accept an organ if they needed a transplant but only 29% of us have committed to donate an organ after our death by joining the Organ Donor Register (ODR). NHSBT will continue to promote the need for more voluntary registrations on the ODR.

NHSBT is seeking assurance that the new legislation will enable existing partnerships with organisations, such as those with the DVLA and Boots, to be maintained and extended so that it is still easy for people throughout the UK to opt in to the Organ Donor Register.

Background

Since 2008, NHSBT has completed the recruitment of new Specialist Nurses - Organ Donation, Clinical Leads for Organ Donation have been appointed and Donation Committees have been established. They are working together, in hospitals throughout the UK, to make donation a usual rather than unusual event and significant progress has been made.

The number of donors after brain death (DBD) has increased by 5% over the last four years, reversing the trend which saw a 13% decrease between 2001/2002 and 2007/2008. The number of donors after circulatory death (DCD) has increased by 87% since 2007/2008.

This rise continues, with an overall increase in the number of donors so far this year of 8.6%* since 1st April 2011 when compared with the same period last year.

*As at 21st October 2011, since 1st April 2011 increase in DBD 4.7%, increase in DCD 15.4%.

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