Donor Registration on Facebook

I was interviewed on Facebook's drive to increase organ donation a couple of times by a Canadian journalist (the results can be found here and here).

I've just seen this report, suggesting that there did seem to be a boost in donation rates following the Facebook initiative. I've not read the actual academic article, but I assume the authors at least attempted to show causation, rather than mere correlation.

RSE Project featured in The Herald

Monday's event on the role of the family in donation decisions is mentioned here. What's not so clear from this brief piece is that the family can override the deceased's wishes in either an opt in or an opt out system. This piece may come across as concerned with an objection to an opt out system, which is not the intention.

Northern Ireland Consults on Opt-Out

Northern Ireland has just launched a public consultation on proposals to switch from an Opt-In to an Opt-Out system. I was particularly pleased to see that the BBC article on this made no mention of 'presumed consent' - an idea that I've criticised elsewhere. Instead, the proposal is put in straightforward terms: it makes donation easier for those who want to donate, while allowing a refusal for those that do not. Notably, however, the proposal is for a 'soft opt-out' in which the next of kin retain a veto: "However, it proposes to make little change to the current key role played by the family in the final decision in relation to donation of organs. A family would still be consulted for additional medical information and asked about any unregistered objection to donation.".