Decision on opt-out organ donation system soon

Senator Andrew Green’s comments come after it was reported earlier this week that UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to launch plans for an opt-out register in England.

In September, Senator Green, who is ‘in favour’ of an opt-out system – under which consent for donations would be assumed unless Islanders had signed up to a register saying they did not want this to happen – said that he intended to bring forward a proposition for the States to debate the topic in early 2018.

He added that the results of the Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, which asked Islanders whether they agreed to introduce such a register, would help decide whether legislation proposals are brought forward.

The findings of the survey, which was distributed to more than 3,000 homes at random, were published earlier this month and showed that 52 per cent of Islanders thought that Jersey should introduce a system of presumed consent for organ donation. About 29 per cent were against the idea and 19 per cent said they were unsure.

Senator Green said: ‘I’m heartened to see there’s a good level of support from Islanders for the idea of presumed consent, which is something I remain enthusiastic about. After looking at the details and discussing with colleagues in my department, I would anticipate making a decision in the coming weeks about whether we can move forward with such a scheme early in 2018.’

Wales launched an opt-out system in December 2015 and Scotland is looking at following suit.

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