Automatic organ donation supported
28 April 2004 

Automatic organ donation got the public seal of approval in discussions today, but health professionals believe the family should still get a say.

At a public consultation meeting in Wellington to discuss the Health Ministry's review of rules governing the use of human tissue, members of the public voiced strong support for the controversial concept of presumed consent for organ donation.

It would make all New Zealanders donors unless they officially opted out.

The option was one of five considered by the review as a way of boosting New Zealand's low organ donation rates. Other options included making the decision to become a donor legally binding and requiring all New Zealanders to make a choice.

Trevor Morley, of Wellington, said presumed consent was by far the best solution and anything less would be ineffective.

Organ donation advocate Andy Tookey also supported presumed consent, but said it may be too drastic a step for the public to accept.

Under the existing system, a donor's decision to donate can be vetoed by a relative who wants the body to remain intact.

All the public participants today agreed this was unreasonable and should be abandoned, particularly given the difficulty in defining a relative.

"I don't see why, when I am in a near death state, (a relative) who has not seen me for 15 years and hates my guts can prevent me from doing something I have chosen to do," Mr Morley said.

However, health professionals took a more cautious approach. While agreeing presumed consent was the most effective system, they believed family input needed to be retained.

Rotorua Hospital intensive care specialist Simon Scothern said failing to consider the family's view would be so distressing it could actually reduce the donor rate.

However, College of Physicians representative Peter Holst said if a family veto was allowed, it would effectively be the same as the current system.

Organ donation rates could be improved by better training for intensive care doctors dealing with grieving families, Dr Scothern said.

Medsafe senior adviser Stewart Jessamine pointed out that even if all eligible people donated their organs, there would still not be enough to meet demand.