In a welcome move, the Government announced on the 11 July 2017 that they will proceed with drafting a Human Tissue Bill that will focus on 3 main areas. In a welcome move, the Government announced on the 11 July 2017 that they will proceed with drafting a Human Tissue Bill that will focus on 3 main areas.
These are:
- The removal, retention, storage, use and disposal of human tissue from deceased persons
- The general conditions for the removal, donation and use of organs and tissues from deceased and living persons for the purposes of transplantation
- Provide for an opt-out system of consent for organ donation and for an associated register
The Irish Donor Network (IDN) has been pressing the Government on the need for this change for some time, including a detailed submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on health in 2014 and in previous HSE consultations, the most recent in 2013. The IDN has also been active in securing additional resources and we played an important role in ensuring an additional €3m was provided for an additional 19 posts including for organ donor coordinators. Our support for soft opt out was dependent on this additional resource. The IDN will be taking an active role in support of the proposed change for a opt out system of consent and associated on line register which we believe will result in more organs for transplants (including lungs).This system has been operating in Wales for over a year with significant success and has recently been introduced to France.