Presumed Consent to Organ Donation in Three European Countries

United Kingdom Transplant reported that, during 2007-2008, a total of 7655 people were awaiting a transplant; however, only 3235 organs were available via the current ;opt in' approach. To address this shortfall, new UK legislation sought to increase the number of organs available for donation. The Chief Medical Officer for England and Wales supports the adoption of ;presumed consent' legislation, that is, an ;opt out' approach, as used in much of Europe. Little research, however, has explored the impact on bereaved relatives, nurses and medical staff of introducing presumed consent legislation. Adopting a phenomenological approach, this study used responses to an initial questionnaire combined with selected interviews with health care professionals to capture their direct experience of presumed consent legislation in three European countries: Portugal, Norway and Belgium.