Opt-out policy and the organ shortage problem – a new publication on critical insights and practical considerations of England’s new law by Sara Bea

Project team member Sara Bea has published a review of England’s new ‘Opt-out’ organ donation policy in the journal Transplantation Reviews. The article mobilises her expertise in the clinical practice and public policy of organ donation, previously submitted as policy briefings on best strategies to increase national organ donation rates to the Scottish Parliament and Westminster, and discusses the following points:

• Opt-out policy for organ donation will not in and of itself solve the organ shortage problem.
• Organ donation specialists on their own are not enough, a collaborative hospital culture is needed to activate all opportunities for donation.
• Investment in organ perfusion technologies is fundamental to increase the quality and also the quantity of organs utilised for transplants.
• Addressing the enduring problem of consent calls for a reframing of donation as end-of-life choice and acknowledging the role of families.