Scots not registered as organ donors could be refused transplants

Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, told a panel of MSPs yesterday that the government is “not convinced” that a bill to introduce presumed consent in Scotland, similar to Welsh legislation, will lead to higher donation rates.

But it emerged the government could consider highly controversial tactics to help drive up declining donation rates such as refusing organs to people who are not on the national register.

A government official told a meeting of the Health and Sport Committee that the “controversial” measure could be among those under consideration.

Gareth Brown, Head of Health Protection Division for the government said other proposals which might considered included paying for the funeral costs of donors.

Mr Brown said: "(opt-out) is not the only thing we could consider.

"There are other things we could consider that we would want to consult on, for example paying for the funeral expenses of families who become donors.

"There are other things being done around the world. There's this concept of reciprocity, where if you want to receive a transplant you should be on the organ donor register."

After Mr Brown made his comments, the Scottish Government stressed it had "absolutely no plans" to consider a system where people could be refused transplants.

British Heart Foundation Scotland said it was “deeply concerned” by his comments.

MSPs were hearing evidence on a bill put forward by Glasgow Labour MSP Anne McTaggart to introduce a soft opt-out system of organ donation where individuals are required to register an objection if the do not wish to donate organs after death. It was launched on the back of the Evening Times’ Opt for Life campaign. Wales introduced the change on December 1.

James Cant, Director of British Heart Foundation Scotland said: “It would be a source of great concern if officials from the Scottish Government were actually considering these questionable alternatives over a recognised system that is used globally.

“International evidence shows us that the best way to ensure we can increased the number of lives saved through organ donation is by changing our system to one of soft opt-out.

“I’m confident that on reflection the Scottish Government will focus its attention on the evidence base.”

Figures show Scotland could be on course for a 10% drop in deceased donations this year.

NHS Blood and Transplant has said that a change to an opt-out policy in Scotland has the potential to lead to an extra 70 transplants a year in Scotland.

It also emerged during the committee hearing that the Scottish Government has halved the budget for its public awareness campaign on organ donation, although it attributed the drop to greater use of social media.

Maureen Watt, Health Minister, said: “We are not against opt-out per se but we would like to see how the Welsh system progresses.

“If we see dramatic changes then we would look to consider launching a bill ourselves.”

However, campaigners say there is sufficient international evidence showing that countries with opt-out systems tend to have higher donation rates.

Those in favour of replicating the change in Scotland say there is already positive evidence in Wales for the change because only 3% of the public has ‘opted out’ of donating.

Ms Watt was challenged by committee convenor Duncan McNeil if she would apologise to the families of Scots patients waiting for a transplant if the change leads to an increase in the number of lives saved in Wales.

He said: “People on the donor list are not enthused about waiting to see how Wales gets on.”

Concerns raised by the Scottish Government centre on technical aspects of the bill such as the appointment of proxies to make an individual’s wishes known.

Anne McTaggart MSP said: “I have said this from the start this is not my bill, it is our bill.

“If there are amendments to make, let’s make them. Let’s make this the best bill possible for people who require it.”

Dr Sue Robertson, Scottish representative for the British Medical Association said: "The Scottish Government's response to the bill is disappointing.

"It has not provided any insurmountable reason why we should not introduce a soft opt-out system of organ donation."

A study carried out by the Scottish Government suggests more than 80% of the public would be in favour of a soft opt-out policy where families would still be consulted about the final decision.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The Scottish Government has absolutely no plans to introduce a system where people could be refused transplants if they had not joined the Organ Donor Register.

"To be clear, this notion is not being considered by the Scottish Government in any way. The comments made at the Committee simply refer to the fact that there are a number of approaches around the world to increasing organ donor rates which we are aware of.”