What are the problems facing organ transplantation and donation in the UK?
Surveys show that the majority of the public support organ donation. In 2003, a survey for UK Transplant showed that 90% of people supported organ donation. However, only 24% of the UK’s population is registered with the NHS Organ Donor Register. Furthermore, when the family do not know their relative’s wishes, 40% opt for the default position, which is not to donate. This has created a situation where the supply of available organs does not match the demand from desperately ill patients. The current average waiting time for an adult kidney transplant, for example, stands at 841 days, while children wait on average 164 days. More than 400 people die every year in the UK while waiting for a transplant and many more die before they even get on to the transplant list. Current research suggests that the gap between the supply of organs and the number of ill people requiring transplantation is actually widening. What is the BMA’s position on presumed consent? The BMA supports the introducti
