New system of consent for organ and tissue donation announced

Over the last year, there has been increasing talk about changing the current organ donation law to an opt-out consent system. The Sick Children’s Trust has followed these discussions very closely as many of the 4,000 families we support every year with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation are those with children on the organ transplant list.

Due to the shortage of organ donors in the UK, children on the transplant list can wait weeks, months or even years for a call to say a donor organ has become available. While The Sick Children’s Trust is there to support a number of families going through this traumatic experience, we recognise the need for more donors nationally in order to reduce the wait and save more lives.

That’s why we are thrilled to hear the news that the government has outlined plans to implement a new system of consent for organ and tissue donation to tackle the shortage of donors. Having worked with the Daily Mirror on its organ donation campaign for the past two years, we feel that this is a huge move forward and will have a notable impact from Spring 2020.

The Sick Children’s Trust’s Head of Operations, Joy Darling, comments:

“We’re delighted to hear the government’s plan to change the way the organ donation register operates in 2020, in a bid to tackle the shortage of organ donors.

“The Sick Children’s Trust supports many families who are desperately waiting for a lifesaving organ for their child. Sadly, in many cases, time for their loved one runs out due to the lack of organ donors nationally.

“For the last year, we have worked alongside the Daily Mirror to help increase organ donation awareness and encourage a change in the law, to give more children hope and a chance of life.

“Max Johnson and his family, who we supported at Scott House throughout his transplant journey, have been integral in the creation of this new legislation and raising awareness of the need for an opt-out system.

“While we are pleased that we could be there for Max’s family, keeping his parents and brother by his side during his seven month wait for a donor heart, we are hopeful that this new piece of legislation will mean that children, as well as adults, will face less time in a hospital far away from home and receive their gift of life as quickly as possible.”