Opt-out organ donation: organs and tissues excluded from the new system
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
In April 2019, the government held a consultation to find out people’s view on the organs, tissues and cells that should be excluded from the new opt-out organ donation system and will still need ‘express consent’. This means that people will have to give their explicit permission for certain parts of the body to be donated.
The government’s response sets out the list of organs, tissues and cells that will need a person’s express consent before being donated.
The list introduces an additional safeguard to ensure that the new system will only apply to routine transplants, to help those waiting for a life-saving or life-enhancing transplant. Novel and rare transplants will be excluded from the opt-out organ donation system when they become available in the UK.
Original consultation
Consultation description
This consultation asks people for their views on which organs and tissues should be excluded from the new opt-out organ donation system.
From 2020, everyone in England over the age of 18 will be considered to be in favour of donating their organs and tissue after death unless they:
- have said they do not want to donate (opted out)
- have appointed someone to decide for them after death
- are in an excluded group
The government proposes that transplants of certain organs and tissues will still need consent and wants your views on whether we are excluding the right parts of the body from the opt-out system.
Documents
Updates to this page
Published 29 April 2019Last updated 25 February 2020 + show all updates
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Added government's response to the consultation on opt-out organ donation: organs and tissues excluded from the new system.
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First published.