Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2017 to Question 71709, on organs: donors, if he will introduce a system of deemed consent for organ and tissue donation in England.

On 1 December 2015, Wales introduced deemed consent (opt-out) for organ and tissue donation. We will monitor closely how the changes in the law on consent in Wales affect donation rates.

Since the launch of the United Kingdom-wide Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 Strategy in 2013, organ donation rates have increased by 7% and transplant rates by 6% mainly through a strengthening of the donation infrastructure (e.g. increased specialist nurses, improved retrieval arrangements). In 2016-17, the UK had the highest ever deceased donor and transplant rates with 1,413 deceased donors resulting in 3,712 transplants.