The Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019 (c. 7) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The Act changed the law regarding organ donation so that unless someone expressly opted out, they would be deemed as having given consent. It was a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

introduced by

Geoffrey Robinson Geoffrey Robinson (born 25 May 1938) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North West for 43 years, from 1976 to 2019. He was Paymaster General from May 1997 to December 1998, resigning after ...

and

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Philip Alexander Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, (born 19 May 1949) is a former health administrator and a Labour Co-operative member of the House of Lords. Early life and career Born in 1949, Philip Hunt was educated at the single-sex gramm ...

Provisions

The provisions of the act include: *Amending the Human Tissue Act 2004 to change organ donation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to an opt-out programme. *Excepting adults who have not been resident in England for 12 months prior to their death or one who for a significant period before their death lacked the

capacity to consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...

Legacy

The Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019 was dubbed "Max and Keira's Law", after Keira Ball, a nine-year-old child who was killed in a traffic accident whose heart was donated to Max Johnson, another nine year old. The chair of the

Medical Ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

committee of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

, John Chisholm said the association was "delighted" with the Bill's passing and that the law would "maximise the number of lives that can be saved". Some critics argued that the NHS would need the money and infrastructure to cope with the change. Elsewhere, the law prompted discussions about the relationship between organ donation and religious beliefs and practices. Questions were also raised over how effective 'deemed consent' laws were after it was reported that organ donation had not increased significantly after Wales implemented an opt-out system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2019 Organ donation Healthcare in the United Kingdom Organ transplantation in the United Kingdom

Provisions

Legacy

See also

References