AROUND 600 people in Scotland are currently waiting for a transplant.

One in three will die waiting.

In one week, the consultation will close for the proposed Organ and Tissue Donation (Scotland) Bill, which aims to change Scotland's transplant laws and ultimately, help save more lives.

Glasgow Labour MSP Anne McTaggart and the Evening Times are urging the Scottish Government to switch to an opt-out system, where everyone is considered a donor unless they have opted out of the system.

Scottish charities and doctors' leaders explain why they are backing the bill.

BRITISH
MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION...
THE BMA has been actively campaigning for a shift to an opt-out system for organ donation since 1999.
We believe that an opt-out system within a well-funded and co-ordinated organ donation system presents the best opportunity to save and transform more lives.
Under an opt-out system individuals have exactly the same choice as in an opt-in system – to donate or not to donate.
It establishes a formal mechanism for those who do not wish to donate to make that view known and to ensure it will be acted upon.
Organ donation becomes the default position which, with public support, changes cultural expectations in society. This represents a more positive view of organ donation.
The BMA believes that the role of the relatives in an opt-out system should be to act as a safeguard by reporting information about any known, unregistered objection.
It is appropriate that donation does not proceed if it is evident that to do so would cause severe distress to the relatives.
We believe that an opt-out system should apply to people over 16 years of age.
In Scotland young people are considered adults at the age of 16 and this is the age from which the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act applies and so it is logical for the opt-out system to also apply at the same age.

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION
SCOTLAND.
THE current organ donation system simply doesn’t work.
While we recognise the great work undertaken by Government and other agencies, including BHF, to promote sign-up to the organ donor register, the needs gap is still too great and resulting in needless loss of life.
We know that nine out of ten people in Scotland support organ donation, but less than 40% have actually joined the Organ Donor Register.
There is clearly a yawning gap between good intention and action.
The move to a soft opt-out system of organ donation is a minor yet positive change to how we conduct organ donation in Scotland.
It is simply a shift in emphasis to a positive and proactive approach.
Under opt-out there is no compulsion to donate and those who don’t want to donate can express their wishes not to.
In Scotland in 2013/2014 a total of 342 donations were transplanted using deceased donors while there was 595 patients waiting on the transplant list. That represents a needs gap of 252 transplants.
Spain has the highest levels of donations per million population in the world and introduced an opt-out system in 1979, although in practice, organs are only ever extracted with the consent of families.
More than 41% of families refused organ donation because they didn’t know what their relative’s wishes were.
Not all people die in circumstances that can allow for organ donation, however the reality is in Scotland two thirds of eligible donations do
not occur, resulting in a missed opportunity to
save a life.
BHF Scotland believes that the time has come to enact a change in law.

THE CYSTIC
FIBROSIS TRUST.
ONE in three young people with cystic fibrosis on the lung transplant waiting list will die before receiving a lung transplant.
The Cystic Fibrosis Trust believes a legislated system of consent will heighten the national debate around transplantation and encourage people to discuss organ donation with their friends
and families.
We welcome the change in legislation but it is essential it is done alongside a number of other measures in order to improve the rates of organ donation.
The on-going work must be supported with investment in organ donation co-ordinators, specialist nurses and clinical leads sustained.
Although the UK continues to have one of the highest rates of family refusal to organ donation in the Western world we are of the opinion that limiting the role of the family in legislation could cause a negative backlash, which would detract from the clearer aims of the Bill.
There is a great deal more to do to shift opinion among the general public and in society at large.
Having “the chat” with family must be encouraged so that each person’s wishes
are known.
Families will then have no doubt that they are honouring their loved ones’ intentions when agreeing to donate and of their role in the organ donation process.
The Cystic Fibrosis Trust supports the Scottish Government proposals to legislate for a soft opt-out system of organ donation
in Scotland, but we are
aware that legislation alone will not be enough to
significantly improve
transplantation rates.
We hope that such a change in legislation will lead to a UK wide re-appraisal of the current situation, and a much needed discussion of organ transplantation, ultimately leading to increased donation rates across the whole of the UK.