Guest guest Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 Hi, I totally agree with this CF mom! And if someone from Europe knows which country has an opt-out system already, I would be very interested to know that. Peace Torsten, dad of Fiona 6wcf and Sebastian newborn wocf e-mail: torstenkrafft@... Subject: MOTHER CALLS FOR CHANGE IN LAW ON ORGAN DONATIONS MOTHER CALLS FOR CHANGE IN LAW ON ORGAN DONATIONS A Westcountry mother who fears her daughter could have only a few years left to live is planning to lobby the Government for a radical change in organ donations. Meredith, 47, from Totnes, is calling for an " opt-out " organ donor register, which will involve everyone being an automatic donor unless they choose otherwise. Under the present system individuals " opt in " to donate their organs after death by carrying a donor card. But Mrs Meredith believes that only 15 per cent of the population are willing to get involved in the current register. Instead Mrs Meredith, whose ten-year-old daughter suffers from the life-threatening genetic condition cystic fibrosis, wants the Government to change to the law to the " opt-out " system. She believes this will increase the number of people who donate their organs after death and strengthen transplant services. " At the moment the number of organs available for transplants is on the decrease, " she said. " In 1998, 287 hearts were donated but last year there were only 160. This shows that people are throwing away viable organs because they haven't registered as a donor, but do not seem to realise they could help save someone's life. " will only be put on the transplant list when she is two years away from dying. Already her kidneys are having trouble coping and her spleen has doubled in size. I know she could need to go on that list very soon but I don't want to wait until she is that position to try to find a donor. " Mrs Meredith has written to her local MP, Steen, to try to win his support to lobby Government. Mr Steen, Conservative MP for Totnes, realises 's case is very tragic and wants to do everything I can to help her. He said: " Mrs Meredith has been fighting for this change in the law for a long time. is very beautiful and I can appreciate her mum's situation, but we have to accept that everyone has their own point of view when it comes to donations. Some people are probably a bit suspicious that if we all give away our parts others will try to make money out of it or are worried about the ethical standards attached to it, but a change in the system is something we must all be concerned about. " Transplants could affect us all, and although we cannot change the law at the moment we need to address people who have serious reservations about the benefits of opting out. I will do everything to help her win this case. " The British Medical Association supports an " opt-out " donor scheme in the UK and says it is people like Mrs Meredith who will highlight the reasons why Britain needs more donors. Dr Vivienne son, head of science and ethics at the BMA, said: " A lot of people have difficulties knowing where to go to register to become a donor at the moment, but if the 'opt-out' policy is applied, hospitals will assume that an individual wishes to be a donor unless he or she has registered their objection. " In European countries which have already taken on this system it has increased the number of donors up to 90 per cent of the population, ensuring that more organs are available for transplants. We need this to happen here. " The BMA believe the shortage of organs is due to fewer fatal car accidents because of seat belt legislation and air bags. But it said that despite efforts to increase the donor pool by advertisements urging people to carry donor cards have not been successful. Studies show that around 70 per cent of the population are willing to donate organs after their death, yet only 15 per cent of the population are registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register. ________________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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