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Organ Donation in England

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Organ donors, or lack of, are a constant problem all around the world. In June 2017, the BBC published a report on organ donors here in the UK. The article reported that three people a day die in need of organs according to the ‘NHS blood and transplant.’ Despite this shocking statistic, 36% of Britons (23.4 million) are already registered as organ donors which is 20% higher than five years ago.  The current law in England is based on an ‘opt-in’ system. This means you have to go to ‘NHS Organ Donor Register’ online and register yourself. Fair enough you might say, but with only a third of Britons registered and with such a high avoidable death rate, it is no wonder why campaigners and the government are seeking new ways to encourage or legislate new systems.  In Wales, they use a ‘deemed consent’ system which has been in place since December 2015. What this essentially means is you are assumed to have given consent as an organ donor unless you physically opt out online.