Organ Donation

EDM number 849 in 1999-00, proposed by Nick Palmer on 13/06/2000.

That this House congratulates the BMA on the launch of its campaign for a radical review of the organ donation system, which is supported by a wide group of professional and patient groups; welcomes the BMS's report Organ Donation in the 21st Century: Time for a Consolidated Approach, endorsed by organisations including the Patients Association, Royal College of General Practitioners, Transplants in Mind and the National Kidney Federation, as a significant contribution to stimulating an informed public debate; notes that over 5,000 people are on the active national transplant waiting list in the United Kingdom at a time when the gap between the number of organs available and people awaiting a transplant is continuing to increase; believes that a more positive view of organ donation should be encouraged to increase the availability of organs for transplantation; recommends changes to the existing organisational structure and established practice, including the development of a national transplant service, an expanded network of organ donor co-ordination, addressing the shortage of transplant surgeons, and increasing the number of critical care beds; recognises the inability of the current system to meet increasing demands; and calls for the Government to initiate a radical review of the whole system, including a thorough review of the existing legislation.

This motion has been signed by a total of 72 MPs.