Editorial Commentary
From 2020, a new legislation comes into force in the UK providing legal status to the concept of presumed consent, extending this from Wales. In essence, consent for organ donation will be assumed unless the donor had actively opted-out. For Black Asian and minority ethnic communities, there is a widening gap between the availability of donors and those that are waiting on transplant lists. A particular stumbling block seems to be the denial of consent by next-of-kin, which appears to be disproportionately high. Exploration of the reasons behind such withholding of consent appears to be lack of information, myths, a lack of cultural sensitivity more than any religious decree [1-2]. Hence, this article will explore in-depth the current scenario, the causes behind these disproportionate representation and leadership that community leaders need to take to improve the access to this life-saving treatment option.
1 Chakravorty, I. (2020). The Gift of Life: Social & Cultural Perspectives on Organ Donation. SUSHRUTA Journal of Health Policy & Opinions, 13(1), 10-12. https://doi.org/10.38192/13.1.2
2 Krishnan, N., & Modi, K. (2020). Organ Donation Law & Its Impact on BAME Communities. SUSHRUTA Journal of Health Policy & Opinions, 13(1), 13-15. https://doi.org/10.38192/13.1.4
Presumed consent: the way forward for organ donation in the UK