The Scottish Government has decided to shelve the introduction of an opt-out organ donation system in Scotland ("BMA to lobby on opt-out transplant system", The Herald, July 13 & Letters, July 13) and the chairman of the Scottish Transplant Group (STG) reports than of five unnamed members of the group who responded to questions about the push to opt-out only one supported the move.
And yet the spokesman for the National Kidney Federation reports that many renal patients will die needlessly while waiting for Scottish politicians to introduce the presumed consent bill.
Opt-out is supported by Cystic Fibrosis Trust 2013, and the director of the British Heart Foundation reports that around 1000 people a year die in the UK waiting for a transplant
Meanwhile, the chairman of the British Medical Association says we can't wait until 2015 to begin the debate about opt-out.
It would be interesting to know if present transplant resources could cope with an increase in the number of cases in the near-term or if this was a factor in deciding to delay a decision.
R Russell Smith,
96 Milton Road,
Kilbirnie.
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