Consent rates internationally vary hugely, and I am talking about non-living organ donation here; where organ donation is a possibility from someone who is brain-dead. Germany, an opt-in country (as we are currently in the rest of the UK) have an organ donation consent rate of 12%, whereas in Austria, a country with a very similar culture and economic development but which has an opt-out system, the consent rate is an amazing 99.98%. So I fully support the campaign Kirstie began before her death.
That said, I don't believe an opt-out system alone brings about the best chances for people waiting for organs, a third of whom die waiting here: Spain has one of the highest rates of donations, and the characteristic that enables the Spanish presumed consent model to be so successful includes the fantastic resourcing of transplant coordinators - this role is so so critically important; trained, empathetic people who can work with the family of the donor towards an outcome where a very sick person can benefit from a life changing transplant, and the family of the deceased can benefit from knowing that they have done so. We need better communication and a shift in public support of organ donation.
In the U.K. we have the highest rate of family refusal of organ donation in the Western World. Which is why it’s so important to have the conversation with your loved ones now!
So yes, opt-out here will invariably help, but this must come with better infrastructure, more funding for transplant coordinators, transplant programmes, and more funding for public awareness. In Spain, the opt-out system came into play in 1979, but it took a further ten years for organ donation rates to significantly increase, when they focused resource on this kind of support and education.
In some countries, an opt-out system alone actually reduced the number of transplants going ahead. Consider this; Instead of two groups; people who opt in, and those that neither opt in or out. The new system creates three groups; people who opt in, those that neither opted in or out (now presumed consent) and now those who opted out (In Wales this is about 6% of the population). The family of the latter group may have agreed to donate, but now the decision was no longer theirs.
While the debate goes on, sign up here, but please, also tell your loved ones of your wishes. CF is the third most common reason for lung transplantation, and has the best survival rates (60% at five years post transplant) - probably because people with CF are used to adhering to a strict treatment regime, which is needed post transplant.
To learn more about CF and transplant, visit here. When I talk to people about organ donation, they often joke that their organs wouldn't be wanted anyway, but the oldest known organ donor was an amazing 107-year-old Scottish woman, whose corneas were donated after her death in 2016. Even cancer patients can donate corneas, allowing the blind to see. This is amazing science, allowing massively life changing things to happen to very sick people. Have a great day people! x
Joan Miro. One of my kids favourites.
