Government backs overhaul of organ donor system

LONDON - An overhaul of the country's organ donation system could lead to a 50 percent rise in donations after death within five years, a taskforce set up by the government said on Wednesday.

Dedicated organ retrieval teams should be established nationwide, training should be given to all staff likely to be involved in the treatment of potential donors and a new promotion campaign begun, the Organ Donation Taskforce said.

The government accepted the recommendations and Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the measures proposed should increase the rate of donation.

"More than 1,000 people lose their lives each year as a result of there being no organs available for transplant," he told parliament.

Britain has one of the lowest rates of organ donation, at just 13 per million of population compared with 35 per million of population in Spain, the taskforce said.

The issue of "presumed consent" - by which a person will be presumed a donor unless he or she has opted out beforehand - did not form part of its recommendations, however.

This is being considered in a separate review although Brown has already backed the move.

Brown said on Wednesday that proposals later in the year on changing the rules of consent would include a veto for family members on whether an organ donation can go ahead.

"That I believe will satisfy many of the religious objections while at the same time ensuring that thousands of lives are saved as a result of organ donations being available," he added.

The taskforce said its proposals could lead to an additional 1,200 transplants a year, of which over 700 would be kidney transplants, cutting down on the cost of dialysis.

"Following extensive analysis of systems in the UK and in other countries, the Organ Donation Taskforce is convinced that a 50 percent increase in organ donation after death is possible and achievable in the UK within five years," the report said.

The report also called for an organ donation organisation to be set up, as well as an ethics group.

"Urgent attention is required to resolve outstanding legal, ethical and professional issues," it said.

The taskforce hopes the changes will allow it to emulate Spain, which 15 years ago had an organ donation rate similar to that of Britain. The Spanish model has been adopted in Italy and several South American countries.

"All experienced an immediate and rapid rise in organ donation. It is entirely possible for the same to happen in the UK," the report said.