14:58

Health groups have praised Theresa May’s decision to overhaul the system of organ donation in England in order to increase the number of livers, kidneys and other body parts available for transplant patients.

In future people in England will have to opt out of organ donation – a system called presumed consent – rather than opt in as they do under the current system. Wales brought in a presumed consent system in December 2015 and that has led to more organs than before being retrieved and thus more lives being extended or saved, doctors say.

Under the system May wants it is automatically presumed that someone will donate their organs upon their death unless they opt out. Currently people in England opt in by signing on the organ donor register.

Gordon Brown tried to make the same switch in 2008 when he was in No 10 but in the end did not press ahead with the plan after some doctors warned such a change could create difficulties for those treating patients near the end of their lives.

The prime minister’s announcement follows a sustained campaign in favour of presumed consent by the Daily Mirror – not a newspaper that Tory premiers usually take seriously.

“The decision to introduce an opt-out system for organ donation in England is excellent news,” said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the British Medical Association.

“The BMA has lobbied and campaigned tirelessly on this for many years and [it] has the potential to save many lives. It is important that the new process is well publicised to ensure the public are fully aware of and understand this important change. The health service must also have the resources, as well as facilities, to ensure transplant procedures can be performed when they are needed.”