UK announces new organ donation plan to address Indian-origin shortages

London, August 6: The UK government has announced new plans to change the law for organ and tissue donation to address the urgent need for organs within the Indian-origin communities in the country. The proposed new system of consent for organ and tissue donation is expected to come into effect in England in 2020, as part of a drive to help black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people desperately waiting for a life-saving transplant.

 

The announcement comes as a recent report called on the National Health Service (NHS) to take more proactive action to address the high death rate among Indian-origin people in Britain due to low levels of organ donation within the community.

NHS found that 21 percent of people who died on the organ donation waiting list in the UK last year were from a BAME background, compared with 15 percent a decade ago.

“Organ donation is, of course, a deeply personal choice, and for many, their faith will play an important factor in their decision,” said Jackie Doyle-Price, U.K.’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Inequalities.

“We want to make it much easier for people to record and share their decision with friends, families and to NHS staff so that they can be confident their wishes — whether or not they choose to donate — will always be respected,” she said.