Organ donor opt-out system 'unlikely' to increase donations A study finds that people felt the wishes of relatives were more ambiguous under an opt-out donationsystem.

Image: Officials hope the new system could save hundreds of lives

The new opt-out organ donation system is "unlikely" to increase the number of donations, according to researchers.

The new system, which is due to come into effect in England in 2020, will mean the majority of people, with certain exceptions, will be considered organ donors unless they have explicitly recorded a wish not to be.

But researchers from Queen Mary University of London found that under opt-out systems, families felt the wishes of their relatives were more ambiguous compared to opt-in systems.

The study, published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, examined people's thoughts on organ donation in various countries which had both opt-in and opt-out systems.

Many organ donor systems across the world include a clause which allows the final decision to donate to be made by family members.


And families vetoing organ donation is said to be one of the biggest barriers to donation.

Figures from NHS Blood and Transplant show that in 2010, 500 families vetoed organ donations despite being informed that their relative was on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

This led to an estimated 1,200 people missing out on potentially life-saving transplants, the researchers said.

In England there have been specific drives encouraging people to tell family members about their wishes surrounding organ donation in the event of their death.

Image: The new system will start in England in 2020

The study involved more than 1,200 American and European participants from countries that had either opt-in or default opt-out systems taking on the role of a third party to judge the likelihood that an individual's "true wish" was to actually donate their organs, given that they were registered to donate on the organ donation register.

Participants were presented with a fictional scenario about a person involved in a fatal accident which left their vital organs intact.

They found that people perceived the donor's underlying preference to donate as stronger under the opt-in or mandated choice systems.

Researchers wrote: "When participants know that an individual has registered their decision to donate through some overt signal (i.e. under a mandated choice or a default opt-in system) this is likely perceived as a less ambiguous signal of a preference to donate."

Officials hope the new system of consent for organ and tissue donation in England could save hundreds of lives.

People who do not wish to donate their organs will still be able to record their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register, either via NHS Blood and Transplant's website or by calling their helpline.

Commenting on the new study, an NHS Blood and Transplant spokesman said: "This is a decision for the Government and Parliament.

"We believe that the new legislation will encourage more families to talk about organ donation and this will support an increase in donation.

"We know that currently around eight out of 10 people support organ donation but only around a third of people have told their families that they want to donate."