New Welsh Law Makes Organ Donation Mandatory In Most Situations

Wales has just passed a new law that will automatically allow doctors to remove the organs of dead patients without requiring consent. This is the first time that a region has moved away from the traditional method of only taking from donors that had previously consented or had family consent after the donor’s death. However, opt out is still allowed for the living and the family of the deceased are able to object to organ removal which provides some ability to get around the requirement. The new legislation has encountered some opposition, mainly among those that have concerns over the religious implications for groups that oppose transplants. But supporters argue the lives saved will outweigh other concerns and that the opt out provisions are enough to protect religious rights. The new rules will, in all likelihood, be closely watched by other jurisdictions that have been or are considering the passage of similar legislation.

See Ben Spencer, Organs can be taken from the dead without any consent: Landmark law change in Wales gives doctors right to assume all adults have agreed to be donors, The Daily Mail, November 30, 2015.