Organ donation
Hello. Today I want to talk to you about a subject that I believe is very important and that's the
topic of organ donation.
Perhaps organ donation is not something you've ever really thought about or perhaps it's
something that you care about deeply. Perhaps you know someone who has benefited from an
organ donation from somebody else. Perhaps you know someone that themselves has
donated an organ. Perhaps you carry a donor card yourself or have registered on your
country's Organ Donation Register or perhaps you have particular objections to organ
donation, whether they be religious cultural or ethical. But today I want to briefly simply
describe to you the different types of organ donation systems that we have around the world
in different countries. And I will give you a very brief overview.
But before I start I also want to contextualize the situation and tell you why organ donation is
so important because around the world we have a lack of organ donors. We have more people
waiting for an organ donation than we have people donating organs. And according to
statistics in the United Kingdom an average of three people die every day while waiting for an
organ transplant. This figure is even higher in other countries and in the US an average of 20
people die every single day because they are not able to receive the vital organs that they
need. So as you can see organ donation is critical for many people and can be lifesaving.
So what systems do different countries have? Well, first of all there is what's known as the opt-
in system and this is a system used in countries such as England the United States and
Germany. In the opt-in system, you need to actively register to be considered a donor four of
your organs after your death. However, the problem with an opt-in system is that if the public
is not aware of the extraordinary need for organs, they may not feel the need to put
themselves on the register.
However, it's also important to note that even in an opt-in system it’s the family or the next of
kin who have the final say. So for example I may not be on the organ donation register but in
the case of my death my family could override my decision, my family could decide that they
want to donate my organs and the same is true of the opposite situation. I may have put
myself on the register, but my family can decide to veto my decision and choose not to donate
my organs.
But let's move on now to what more countries are starting to turn to and that is the system
known as the opt-out system and the opt-out system is also called “presumed consent”.
Within this system, everyone is considered to be an organ donor unless they actively remove
themselves from the list and the benefit of this system is that even if the public is not aware of
the need for organ donations, they are still considered a donor even if they don't actively put
themselves on the list. And such a system makes a huge difference. And countries with opt-out
systems tend to have much higher rates of donations. To give you an example, as I mentioned
Germany is a country with an opt-in system and only 12% of its citizens gave consent. Only
12% of its citizens put themselves on the donation register. Austria, however, is an opt-out
system and 99% of its citizens are on the donation register. In other words, only 1% decided to
remove themselves.
So as I said at the beginning we have a great need of organ donations around the world. So I
would personally encourage you to become an organ donor if you live in a country which has
an opt-in system. Please, make sure you register yourself on the list. But whatever system you
have, it's essential to talk to your family because your family may not know your position and
they may decide to veto your decision to donate your organs after your death. So talk to your
family about it. Tell them what you want and learn what they want because by donating your
organs after your death you could save many lives. Thank you very much.
