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PM accused of organ donor U-turn Backing for organ donor overhaul
(about 4 hours later)
The Conservatives have called for Gordon Brown to explain his "apparent U-turn" on the organ donor system. Proposals to overhaul organ donations and boost the number of transplants in the UK by 1,200 a year have been backed by the government.
The prime minister has said he backs a move to "presumed consent", in which everyone is a potential donor unless they opt out or their family objects. Health Secretary Alan Johnson supported 14 proposals to improve the system such as a UK-wide donation organisation.
Mr Brown said such a change could help save thousands of lives. A system of "presumed consent", where everyone is considered a donor unless they opt out, was not among proposals.
But Tory frontbencher Andrew Lansley has written to him asking why he voted against it in 2004, and how it would differ in practice from current rules. Mr Johnson said he was attracted to the idea. The Tories have accused Gordon Brown of a "U-turn" on the issue.
There are more than 8,000 people waiting for organ transplants in the UK - a figure which rises by about 8% a year.There are more than 8,000 people waiting for organ transplants in the UK - a figure which rises by about 8% a year.
'Clarify' 'Begin immediately'
The government has set up an organ donation task force to look at ways of overcoming shortages. It will set out 14 recommendations later to boost organ donation in the UK by 50% within five years. Among proposals outlined by the Organ Donation Taskforce were 24-hour organ retrieval teams, a doubling of the number of transplant co-ordinators and a UK-wide minimum period in which donor co-ordinators must be notified of patients whose death is expected.
Among them will be recruiting twice as many transplant co-ordinators and creating 24-hour organ retrieval teams, they hope to emulate Spain's successful model. Other suggestions included reporting rates of referral, identification and approaches to families by individual NHS trusts, and reimbursing trusts which aid the process of organ donations.
This is a very important subject. Public support for organ donation must be maximised Andrew LansleyConservatives Whatever the system, whether it's presumed consent or our current system, families are always involved and nobody would retrieve organs against a family's wishes Elisabeth BugginsOrgan donation taskforce
But they will not include "presumed consent" - as that is being examined by a separate sub-committee which has been looking specifically at the issue and will report back in the summer. The aim is to boost the number of organs being donated by 50% within five years. The Department of Health said work would begin immediately to implement the plans.
In a letter to the prime minister, shadow health secretary Mr Lansley urges him to "clarify what his policy on organ donation now is, including whether he intends to bring forward new legislation". Professor Peter Weissberg, of the British Heart Foundation, said the recommendations had to be adopted "in full" if the 50% goal was to be achieved.
'Diametrically opposed' The issue of presumed consent will be examined separately and a report is expected in the summer.
It adds: "In 2004 [leading up to the Human Tissue Act], Conservatives offered a free vote to our MPs on the issue. For your government it was a whipped vote.
"It is all the more surprising that you now appear to take the diametrically opposed view."
Presumed consent is no consent at all Joyce RobinsPatient Concern
Mr Lansley urged him to explain a change from "the principle that consent for organ donation should not be presumed".
Mr Lansley's letter to Mr Brown says: "According to press reports, you continue to believe that organs should not be taken against the wishes of a deceased's family.
"So, in what practical way is this different from the current situation? Why should we seek to breach the principle of consent in law while maintaining it in practice?"
'Aching gap''Aching gap'
Several patient groups are against a system of presumed consent, arguing that it is not up to the state to decide what becomes of people's bodies when they die. The prime minister said on Sunday it had the potential to close "the aching gap" between the benefits of transplant surgery and the limitations of the existing consent system - in the UK 40% of relatives refused to give consent for donation.
Joyce Robins, of Patient Concern, told the BBC: "Presumed consent is no consent at all. In theory the system - used in Spain - allows hospitals to take organs unless people specifically opt out of the scheme, but in practice families are also consulted.
Nobody would retrieve organs against a family's wishes Elisabeth BugginsOrgan Donation Taskforce Why should we seek to breach the principle of consent in law while maintaining it in practice? Andrew LansleyConservatives
"We've worked for years to get a system of proper, informed consent in the health service in this country and Gordon Brown is willing to throw it all out of the window."
Mr Brown wrote in the Sunday Telegraph at the weekend that a presumed consent system "seems to have the potential to close the aching gap between the potential benefits of transplant surgery in the UK and the limits imposed by our current system of consent".
The prime minister, who carries an organ donor card, said he hoped the measure could be introduced this year.
The taskforce's recommendations are due to be outlined later by Health Secretary Alan Johnson. They include having 24-hour dedicated organ retrieval teams, saying current teams vary in size and experience and their funding is "often obscure" and from various sources.
The taskforce's chairwoman, Elisabeth Buggins, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she expected those recommendations to be adopted, which she said could "dramatically improve" the donor situation - before they consider whether a system of presumed consent is necessary.The taskforce's chairwoman, Elisabeth Buggins, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she expected those recommendations to be adopted, which she said could "dramatically improve" the donor situation - before they consider whether a system of presumed consent is necessary.
She added: "Whatever the system, whether it's presumed consent or our current system, families are always involved and nobody would retrieve organs against a family's wishes."She added: "Whatever the system, whether it's presumed consent or our current system, families are always involved and nobody would retrieve organs against a family's wishes."
Mr Johnson said the prime minister had not said presumed consent should definitely be introduced, but had been "kicking off a national debate".
Family wishes
But he added: "He's attracted by what happens in Spain, as am I."
But shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has written to Mr Brown asking why he voted against it in 2004, and how it would differ in practice from current rules.
In a letter to the prime minister, shadow health secretary Mr Lansley urges him to "clarify what his policy on organ donation now is, including whether he intends to bring forward new legislation".
He added: "According to press reports, you continue to believe that organs should not be taken against the wishes of a deceased's family.
"So, in what practical way is this different from the current situation? Why should we seek to breach the principle of consent in law while maintaining it in practice?"
Several patient groups are against a system of presumed consent, arguing that it is not up to the state to decide what becomes of people's bodies when they die.