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ARTICLE · 20 JULY 2020

Opt-out, Not Opt-in: How Organ Donation Has Changed

Taylor Vinters
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On 20 May 2020 ‘Max and Keira's Law' was introduced in England. The new law means all adults in England will be presumed to be organ donors unless ...

United KingdomGovernment, Public Sector
Rhiannon Coleman
Rhiannon Coleman

On 20 May 2020 'Max and Keira's Law' was introduced in England. The new law means all adults in England will be presumed to be organ donors unless they specifically opt-out from donating their organs or are members of the 'excluded group'.

There is still a shortage of organ donors in England – last year 408 patients on the transplant waiting list died in the UK. The new law is intended to reduce the uncertainty around organ donation and of course to save and improve more lives. One organ donor can save or transform the lives of up to nine other people.

Max and Kiera's Law was named after Kiera Ball, who died aged nine in 2017, and Max Johnson, whose life was saved when he received her heart.

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