Salmond to back opt-out organ donations in health shake-up

Salmond to back opt-out organ donations in health shake-up
By Paul Hutcheon

FIRST MINISTER Alex Salmond is to offer his personal support to an "opt-out" system for organ donation in a bid to tackle Scotland's organ crisis.

The SNP leader has been persuaded by calls to introduce a system of "presumed consent", by which organs are automatically taken unless an individual has declined to participate in the scheme before death.

His backing ensures that both he and his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, are among the most senior ministers in the UK to support a change in the law. Donor organs are required by around 800 people in Scotland, many of whom will die without receiving a transplant. A recent BMA survey found that nearly three-quarters of Scots supported a system of "presumed consent", a 10% jump in support since the most recent BMA survey on the issue in 2004. Health secretary Sturgeon earlier this week announced her support for the radical change. Her party will debate the issue today at its conference in Aviemore, where an "opt-out" proposal will be voted on by delegates. Now Salmond, like his deputy, has made clear his support for the principle of presumed consent. A spokesman for the first minister said: "Alex Salmond will lend his personal support to an opt-out system of organ donation. "Any system pursued by the Scottish government will also have to include significant safeguards." George Foulkes, a Labour MSP who supports presumed consent, welcomed Salmond's stance. He said: "The SNP has acknowledged the need for the same system of organ donation both north and south of the Border. "If Alex and Nicola are backing an opt-out system, this would be a significant pressure on the UK government." A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland said: "We have long been calling for a move to a system of presumed consent. So we are really pleased that the Scottish Government is recognising that there is support out there and we can have a public debate on the issue." Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, said: "We welcome any move that could mean more lungs are available for transplant as this would save a substantial number of lives, especially among children and young adults with conditions like cystic fibrosis." Meanwhile, Sturgeon yesterday promised to slash prescription charges next year as a first step towards abolishing the so-called "ill-health tax". The deputy first minister will cut the £6.85 charge within months as a way of marking the 60th anniversary of the NHS. She said: "In April next year we will take the first step towards the abolition of prescription charges. And we will abolish them all within the lifetime of this parliament." Sturgeon added that a reduction would be a good way of marking the NHS's anniversary. "What better way to celebrate the NHS than by returning it to its founding principle of healthcare, free at the point of need? That was the principle espoused and defended." She also announced plans to reduce waiting times for every patient within two years. The SNP government has pledged to deliver a guaranteed maximum wait of 18 weeks by the end of 2011, a policy Sturgeon said will be staged. She said: "By March 2009, the current waiting time target of 36 weeks will be cut to a maximum of 30 weeks." Scottish Labour's business manager Jackie Baillie said of the SNP's conference: "The SNP have boasted of 1000 delegates attending their conference. People across Scotland would much rather hear when we will get the 1000 extra police they promised."