PEOPLE in Scotland will be able to electronically 'opt out' of the organ donor register for the first time under changes to the Welsh transplant system.

The national organ donor register is being overhauled to make way for new transplant laws in Wales, which comes into force on December 1, 2015.

From September, the UK register will include both opt-in and opt-out options, to take into account the Welsh legislation, which will introduce a system of deemed consent.

However, while people will be able to opt out electronically in Scotland and the rest of the UK, the deemed consent laws will only apply in Wales.

The Evening Times, the BMA and leading charities are campaigning for a soft opt-out system, similar to Wales, which means that if a person hasn't removed themselves from the register, they will be deemed to have given consent. However family will still be consulted.

Glasgow MSP Anne McTaggart is consulting on a new Bill for a soft opt-out system in Scotland.

A spokeswoman for the BMA said the proposed Bill remained vitally important for Scotland, because the changes brought in by the new register, "doesn't alter the ­legal position on consent".

An NHS Blood and Transplant Spokesperson said: "In order to be compliant with the Welsh legislation, the organ donor register is being re-developed to include the option to enable people to record a decision not to be an organ donor.

Currently the Organ Donor Register only records a decision to be a donor.

The deemed consent proposals in the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act will only apply to people living and dying in Wales. Residents of England, NI and Scotland will, for the first time, be able to formally record a decision not to be a donor but there is no change to the legal position in respect of organ donation in any of these countries."

Major charities including the British Heart Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust want the Scottish Government to change the country's transplant laws in line with the new Welsh system.

It is hoped the change would boost transplant numbers and help address the discrepancy between support for organ donation and numbers on the register.

caroline.wilson@eveningtimes.co.uk