Plan for Britons to OPT OUT of donating their organs pass Commons

Plans for Britons to have to OPT OUT of donating their organs after they die move a step closer to becoming law after MPs back change

  • A Bill to overhaul the organ register system passed the House of Commons 
  • Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn back moves to bring in a new opt out system
  • The Bill will become law if the House of Lords also supports the change
  • To will be known as ‘Max’s Law’ after Max Johnson, 10, who got a heart transplant

Plans for Britons to have to opt out of donating their organs when they die moved a step closer to becoming law as MPs backed the change today.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have both backed moves to bring in a new ‘opt out’ system in Britain.

And today a private member’s bill to bring in the overhaul – which minsters estimate could save 700 lives a year – received the seal of approval from MPs.

The proposed change is dubbed ‘Max’s Law’ after 10 year-old Max Johnson, a heart transplant recipient who led a high-profile campaign to change the system. 

It means that it will be brought in as law if the House of Lords also back the change. 

Labour MP Dan Jarvis, who brought forward the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill, urged Parliament to seize the moment and back the law.

Labour MP Dan Jarvis, who brought forward the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill, (pictured in the Commons today) urged Parliament to seize the moment and back the law

Speaking in the Commons today, he said: ‘Quite simply, we are here today to save lives. To save the lives of people like Max, but also the thousands of other people who will benefit from the change that this Bill will set out.

‘We have a rare opportunity to take this opportunity to make this powerful and meaningful change.’ 

He said that the law change will help save lives as thousands more people are likely to be placed on the register – helping to boost chances of a match.

He said: ‘This is a Bill which will save lives, but it is important to note that of all the people who died in the UK last year only about 1% died in circumstances that would have made a donation possible.


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‘This means that even though hundreds of thousands of people across the country are registered as potential donors, only a small handful will ever be in a situation that would allow a donation to take place.

‘This is one of the main reasons why today in the UK there are thousands of people waiting for an organ donation and why every year hundreds of people will die waiting.

‘This loss of life is devastating but it is not inevitable.’

He added: ‘I believe that moving to an opt-out system for organ donation, like the one they have in Wales, will add thousands of names to the donor register, meaning that once the Bill is passed hundreds of lives could be saved.

‘This is not about the state taking control of people’s organs or shaming people into donating. 

If people do want to opt-out that is absolutely fine and I am entirely respectful of any decision of any one for whatever reason so to do, no questions will be asked and there will be no hard feelings.’

The Bill cleared the Commons after receiving its third reading and will undergo further scrutiny in the Lords at a later date.

Many MPs (pictured today in the House of Commons Chamber) stood up to give their backing to the law change, which they voted through today 

The measures are expected to come into effect in England in spring 2020 – because the timetable for its introduction will allow for a year of ‘transition’ to the new law.

The Government has said it would also encourage people to discuss, with their families, the issue of whether they would want to be a donor in the event of their death. 

Health minister Jackie Doyle-Price praised backbench MPs for bringing the legislation forward and said it was something ‘that will save lives’.

She said: ‘I am so proud that I have been able to play my part in taking this Bill forward.

‘It really has been a fantastic piece of cross-party working to be frank, it’s made it quick and speedy as a consequence and we’ve all been focused on what we’re trying to achieve here which is to save more lives.’

She added that the measures would be in place ‘very speedily’ once the Bill had achieved Royal Assent. 

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