Organ Donation Essay

859 Words4 Pages
Introduction
Organ transplantation is one of the greatest achievements in modern medicine. In 2015, more than 4000 lives were saved and improved by an organ transplant in the UK. However, not all of people waiting for a lifesaving transplant can benefit from transplantation because of the shortage of organ donation.

British people have legitimate reasons to concern about their donor shortage as their country’s organ donor rate is much lower than many European nations although the UK is one of the world leaders. Additionally, this situation is even worse as in 2015, the current National Health Service Blood and Transplants (NHSBT) data showed that the number of deceased donors in the UK has dropped by 3% for the first time in 11 years. The purpose of this report is to examine obstacles to organ donation within the UK, then based on the findings suggest practical solutions in order to increase significantly the UK organ donation rate.
Findings
3.1. The Current “Opt - in” System

The UK current legislative framework for organ donation is an “opt - in” system where a person has to register their willingness to donate their organs in the event of their death.

There are many debates about the effectiveness of this legislation. Some campaigners and medical experts argue that having to actively decide to register for an organ donation has diminished the number of available organs which could lead to premature deaths (Sharon 2015). Additionally, it is estimated that between 65%