Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Ten years ago, the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 came into force in Wales. This was a landmark moment for the UK, marking the moment Wales became the first part of the country to fundamentally change the system of consent for organ donation.
The Act provided for a system of deemed consent for organ and tissue donation. This was a significant move away from the old system where people had to opt in to become a deceased donor. Now people would have the choice to opt in or opt out, or to do nothing and their consent will be deemed unless someone is in an excluded category.
The Senedd passed the law in 2013 in a bid to increase the number of organs available for transplantation. This is an example of how devolution works at its best – it enables us to develop and test new solutions to issues here in Wales, which the rest of the UK can learn from and adopt.
People’s consent is deemed unless they are in an excluded category – if they are under 18, are not ordinarily resident, or lack mental capacity to understand deemed consent.
In the last 10 years, an additional 198 deceased donors have donated their organs under deemed consent to people waiting for a transplant, enabling them to live fuller lives. Over this period, more than 640 organs were donated, of which, more than 550 were transplanted following deemed consent. This is in addition to organs donated and transplanted through expressed consent, such as by opting into the organ donor register.
But, as we saw from the figures released during Organ Donation Week, the waiting list for a transplant continues to rise and, sadly, people are still dying while waiting for a transplant. Changing the law to introduce deemed consent is only part of the picture. Wales has a soft opt-out system, which respects and takes accounts of families’ views.
This means if individuals support organ donation, it is vitally important they speak to their loved ones about organ donation and about what they want to happen in the event of their death.
This is because their family, or a friend of long standing, will be asked about their wishes in relation to organ donation in the event of their death.
The evidence suggests families are most likely to support donation when they already know it is what their relatives wanted. The best way to do this is by speaking to your family and by registering your decision on the organ donation register. You can also do this via the NHS Wales App.
I would like to pay tribute to all those who work in our donation and transplantation services for the compassionate support they provide to donors, their families, and the recipients. And to all those who have donated – yours is the biggest contribution of all.
You can register your organ donor decision online at Register your decision - NHS Organ Donation, via the NHS Wales App or by calling 0300 123 23 23.