Meeting of the Parliament 09 February 2016
No—I do not agree that that is the case. We have had bills to which up to 200 amendments have been lodged, so I do not agree that the issue of proxies need be a difficulty. I add that the provisions on proxies keep us in line with the United Kingdom structure.
As I said, the bill has a single purpose: to introduce a soft opt-out system. Things need to change.
The minister has asked that we do not concentrate on the annual organ donation rates, but look at the long-term trends instead. Every reduction in donations means that lives are lost, and it is right that we should be concerned when donation and transplant rates decrease significantly, not just for one year, but for the second year in a row. Last year, deceased donor rates fell by almost 8 per cent and deceased donor transplants fell by 12 per cent. This year’s data look just as worrying, with an expected 16 per cent reduction in deceased donor rates. The minister did not provide any explanation for that disturbing trend or any sense of urgency in determining why those rates are falling so rapidly.
People want us to take action now. We have the opportunity to turn that trend around by agreeing to pass the bill and implement a soft opt-out system for organ donation, which is a tried-and-tested system that works successfully in many countries around the world; by changing people’s thoughts about organ donation, from being something that they would rather not think about to something that they take a let’s-discuss approach to; by reducing the instances of families being asked to make a decision on behalf of a loved one while unaware of their wishes; and by honouring the wishes of those who have opted in through reducing the number of instances in which a person’s views are overruled.
We have a pretty good idea of how many lives that could save. Despite improvements, we enjoy nowhere near the rates of deceased donations that our European neighbours experience. They have more than 50 years of experience and knowledge of the matter.