23.06.11
Organ donation on the rise
Organ donation registration has risen to 18 million in Britain, according to NHS Blood and Transplant. This accounts for nearly one in three people, with the highest percentage in Scotland, where 37% of people are on the register.
Director of organ donation and transplantation, Sally Johnson, celebrated the news as "a fantastic achievement".
However, she insisted: "Getting people to sign up to the register is only half the battle. In order to see that their wishes are carried out in the event of their deaths, it is essential that those who want to become donors discuss donation with family and friends."
Additionally, there is still a great need for more people to sign up, as 10,000 patients are on a waiting list for organs. There is a particular shortage of donors for Black and Asian people.
The British Heart Foundation has proposed that an opt-out system should be introduced. Dr Mike Knapton said: "These are very promising numbers which show we're making progress towards finding more organs to help those who need them most.
"But there are still more than 40 million people in the UK who aren't on the register and disparities in donor numbers depending on where you live. We can end that lottery by introducing an opt-out organ donation system in which people would automatically be on the register unless they chose otherwise."
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