AN ethnic minority campaign group has welcomed the introduction of an opt out system, which will encourage everyone to decide on organ donation after death.
The National BAME Transplant Alliance (NBTA) praised the change in law, which was agreed by the House of Lords last month.
The law will encourage everyone to plan on organ donation after death and those who do not decide will fall into the “presumed consent” category from 2020.
In welcoming the change, Kirit Modi, president of NBTA, said they anticipated more organ donors in the future.
“It is important to emphasise that close family members will continue to be involved in conversations with the specialist nurse for organ donation before any final decisions are made”, he added.
Around three people die every day in the UK in need of an organ. There are considerably more people from BAME background waiting for an organ, but studies show the number of people from BAME background who have signed up to the organ donor register is extremely low.
Modi confirmed that NBTA was actively working with NHS Blood and Transplant in planning an effective communications campaign. They added they were also available to support ethnic communities on how to spread awareness.
