Radical new law making everyone an organ donor unless they opt-out could save 700 per year, government says

Change to be known as Max's Law after 10-year-old heart transplant recipient

There will be a one year introductory period to give people time to register their wishes before the it takes effect in Spring 2019 (PA)

As many as 700 lives a year will be saved by new organ donation laws which will presume everyone is a donor unless they explicitly opt-out, the government has said.

The new system will now be introduced after a consultation showed the public are overwhelmingly in favour of organ donation, but only a minority have registered as organ donors.

There will be a one year introductory period to give people time to register their wishes before the it takes effect in Spring 2019, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.

The changes will be known as Max’s Law after Max Johnson, a 10-year-old boy who was saved by a heart transplant.

“Organ donation saves lives,” said Jackie Doyle-Price, parliamentary under-secretary of state for mental health and inequalities.

“We believe that by making these changes, we can save as many as 700 more lives every year.

“But organ donation remains a gift.

However the change is “not a magic bullet”, she added and urged everyone to talk with their families about their wishes.

Currently, would-be donors must indicate their intentions on the NHS Organ Donor Register, or grieving families must make the decision if a patient’s wish to donate is unknown.

While research shows that 82 per cent of people in England support organ donation, only 37 per cent have indicated so on the register.

Fewer than half of families give consent for their loved one’s organs to be donated.

Some 411 people in the UK died on the transplant waiting list in 2017.

New systems to record an individual’s faith and ensure the NHS consults religious leaders or family members on any traditions that need to be respected will be in effect from December 2018. Staff will receive extra training on these issues.

Under-18s, people with limited mental capacity and others who have not lived in England for at least a year prior to their death will be exempt from the scheme.

It follows a consultation earlier in 2018 which drew 17,000 responses from the public.

The legislation, which was introduced in Parliament in July 2017, will return to the House of Commons in the autumn.

Those who do not wish to donate can record this on the NHS register either online, by phone or on an app to be released by the end of the year.

Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “There is a desperate shortage of organ donors in the UK.

“Introducing an opt-out system in England will better reflect the views of the general public and give hope to those currently waiting for a transplant they so desperately need.”

“Nursing staff overwhelming support moving to a soft opt-out system for organ donation,” said Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing.

“When hundreds are still dying for want of a donor, this new system could give more of them a fighting chance.”