Changes to Organ Donation

From spring 2020, the law around organ donation in England is changing to allow more people to pass on more organs to save more lives.

All adults in England will be considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they had recorded a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups. This is commonly referred to as an ‘opt-out’ system.

Those excluded will be:

  • people under 18
  • people who have lived in England for less than 12 months before their death or who are not living here voluntarily
  • people who lack the capacity to understand the change.

Adults covered by the change will still have a choice whether they want to be an organ donor and their families will still be involved before organ donation goes ahead.

One organ donor can save or transform the lives of up to nine people, and help many more if they also donate tissue.

You can choose now whether or not to be on the NHS Organ Donor Register.