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Effort to increase organ donation Effort to increase organ donation
(about 8 hours later)
A raft of proposals is being put forward in a bid to increase the number of people who donate organs. Moves to increase the number of organ donors in Scotland by 50% over the next five years have been introduced by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon.
The Scottish Government's organ taskforce hopes to boost donor numbers by 50% over the next five years. The target is included in a new report which contains a raft of recommendations for improving organ donation across the UK.
The proposals include a UK-wide transplant network, more donation co-ordinators and compensation for health boards for costly operations. Ms Sturgeon welcomed the report, which she said could help save lives.
It does not cover the presumed consent "opt-out" option, but will issue a report on that in the summer. A separate piece of work is still being carried out to look at the issue of presumed consent for organ donations.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon is sympathetic to the idea of an opt-out system, as Scotland has one of the worst donation rates in Europe. Ms Sturgeon met patients and staff at the transplant unit at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to mark the publication of the Organ Donation Task Force's 'Organs for Transplant' report.
I want everyone to seriously consider signing up to the register and for this important issue to become widely discussed Nicola SturgeonHealth Secretary
Among the recommendations contained in the report were a UK-wide network of Organ Retrieval Teams to be set up to ensure timely retrieval of organs.
The current network of donor transplant co-ordinators should be expanded and all parts of the NHS must embrace organ donation as a usual, not unusual event, the report stresses.
Local policies must be put in place and all clinical and nursing staff likely to be involved in organ donation should receive training.
The taskforce believes that their recommendations could increase organ donation rates by 50% in the next five years.
Ms Sturgeon said the report could be crucial in reversing Scotland's record of having one of the lowest organ donation rates in Europe.
Presumed consent
She added: "The shortage of donor organs for transplantation is an increasingly acute problem and we are determined to tackle this.
"I want everyone to seriously consider signing up to the register and for this important issue to become widely discussed.
"This is an issue that many people already give serious consideration to and it's impressive that more Scots have put their names on the Organ Donor Register than in any other part of the UK."
Ms Sturgeon said that although the report did not deal with the issue of presumed consent, she was "sympathetic" to the idea.
A system of presumed consent would mean everyone is a potential donor unless they opt out or their family objects.
In the last few months, in our unit, quite a large number of patients have deteriorated and died whilst waiting for a lifesaving transplant John ForsytheScottish Transplant Group
On Sunday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown also backed the opt-out idea.On Sunday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown also backed the opt-out idea.
John Forsythe, chairman of the Scottish Transplant Group and a transplant surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, said: "I am delighted that the recommendations from the Organ Donation Task Force have received widespread approval.
"In the last few months, in our unit, quite a large number of patients have deteriorated and died whilst waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
"Indeed approximately 1,000 patients across the UK either die whilst waiting for a transplant or are removed from the waiting lists because they are too sick."
There are currently 700 people in Scotland awaiting an organ transplant.