David Ross
Highland Correspondent
Making everyone in Scotland an organ donor unless they opt-out, is akin to a tax imposed by the state on people's bodies after death, the Free Church says.
Specialist nurses and better education in schools would be more effective in increasing the number of organ donors, it argues.
Glasgow MSP Anne McTaggart's Organ Donation (Scotland) Bill has was this week backed by 22 fellow Labour MSPs, two Lib Dems and one member each from the SNP, Conservatives and Greens.
The Bill would leave people having to opt out instead of opting in to the organ donation register. It will be introduced to parliament unless the Scottish Government indicates it intends to introduce equivalent legislation by February 5.
Ms McTaggart argues that organ donation rates increase by 25-30% in countries where an opt-out system is introduced.
But Rev Dr Donald MacDonald, a former Free Church Moderator and retired surgeon, is not persuaded: "Organ donation should be about deliberate and informed giving, instead of medical teams assuming it's ok to take parts from our bodies. Silence is not consent.
"Following the Alder Hey Children's Hospital scandal, the public is suspicious about removal of organs post mortem and this type of law might only increase that suspicion and could be counterproductive."
Dr MacDonald continued: "Thus far studies have proved entirely inconclusive that introducing an opt-out system will lead to a long-term increase in organ donor rates.
"For example, Sweden is a country with an opt-out system and its donation rates are lower than that of the UK."
He said the subject of organ donation was becoming more prominent in Scottish life, and the Free Church wholeheartedly supported the Scottish Government's publicity campaigns on this subject over the past few years.
"This is more likely to result in better informed decision making and changed behaviour amongst the public rather than taking the bull in a china shop approach of a blanket opt-out system.
"It would certainly be foolish to make any substantive changes in the law until professionals study the effects of the Welsh legislation which is coming into effect later this year."
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