The Great Opt Out Debate

Well, yesterday saw the release of the Organ Donation Task Force report on presumed consent. And what a debate it has caused. I was priviliged to sit on the Clinical Working Group of the Task Force that debated the issue and have read the full report so was interested to see how the whole thing was portrayed. And as usual it wasn't great. It's a very emotive subject - especailly if you are on the transplant list and waiting for your call.
However, presumed consent isn't necessarily the answer and certainly not at the moment. There are also many myths - moving to an 'opt out' system alone will not increase donation rates overnight and not without significant investment in infastructure and education.
There are so many things that can be done to increase donation rates without changing the system, many of them contained in the main task force report, that need to be done first. Things like sorting out infastructure - making sure there are enough co-ordinators is one; putting money into education and public awareness; making sure every family who is in a position to be asked about organ donation is actually asked. So lets do those first and then review the position - the report recommends that presumed consent is reviewed in five years to give time to implement the main report and monitor its effectiveness.
The one good thing to come out of yesterday is that at least ithas encourage debate again and put organ donation on the news (although interstingly by 10pm it had dropped off the news altogether).
The gift of life is an amazing gift to be given. Talk to most donor families or recipients and they will tell you that. Opt out takes away that gift and takes advantage of people's apathy.
Here endeth the lesson.