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20/04/2010
Could Donating Your Organs Pay?
Financial incentives are being explored as a means to increase the number of UK organ donors.
A consultation has been launched on how the number of organ donors can be increased ethically. One suggestion is providing financial incentives, including the payment of funeral expenses.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics will also consider how to increase the number of people willing to donate eggs, sperm and embryos for fertility treatment and how to encourage more donation for research.
Paying for most types of organs and tissue is illegal in the UK.
But men who donate sperm can be paid expenses up to £250, which is the same for women donating eggs.
The Nuffield consultation will consider if it is ethical to pay expenses for sperm donation but not for blood and why healthy volunteers who take part in clinical trials can be paid thousands of pounds but it remains illegal to sell organs.
The public consultation will last 12 weeks and the council's findings will be published in autumn 2011.
It will explore ways of boosting donations from living people of bodily material such as blood or sperm, as well as ways to encourage more people to sign up for the donor register and state their wishes for their organs to be used by others after their death.
As well as cash payments or contributions towards funeral costs, other options include priority for the donor if they require a transplant later in life, the payment of more generous expenses and the sending of certificates or "thank you" letters to the donor or donor's family.
Transplant Surgeon, Mr Keith Rigg said: "It will be interesting to see what people really think. Will they be willing to pay for some things and not others?"
The research comes after it was revealed that a blunder in recording the wishes of people on the organ donor register may have led to some people having organs removed that they had not wished to donate.
The families involved have been written to and around 400,000 other people, who registered on the donor register through the driving licence application, will have their records checked.
It was feared the fiasco could lead to a collapse in the organ donor register and transplantation in general.
Demand for organ donors has increased in recent years and now far exceeds supply. This is due to an ageing population and improvements in medicine that mean more people could benefit from transplants.
Demand for sperm and egg donations has also risen due to new treatments and procedures to help infertility.
(LB/BMcC)
A consultation has been launched on how the number of organ donors can be increased ethically. One suggestion is providing financial incentives, including the payment of funeral expenses.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics will also consider how to increase the number of people willing to donate eggs, sperm and embryos for fertility treatment and how to encourage more donation for research.
Paying for most types of organs and tissue is illegal in the UK.
But men who donate sperm can be paid expenses up to £250, which is the same for women donating eggs.
The Nuffield consultation will consider if it is ethical to pay expenses for sperm donation but not for blood and why healthy volunteers who take part in clinical trials can be paid thousands of pounds but it remains illegal to sell organs.
The public consultation will last 12 weeks and the council's findings will be published in autumn 2011.
It will explore ways of boosting donations from living people of bodily material such as blood or sperm, as well as ways to encourage more people to sign up for the donor register and state their wishes for their organs to be used by others after their death.
As well as cash payments or contributions towards funeral costs, other options include priority for the donor if they require a transplant later in life, the payment of more generous expenses and the sending of certificates or "thank you" letters to the donor or donor's family.
Transplant Surgeon, Mr Keith Rigg said: "It will be interesting to see what people really think. Will they be willing to pay for some things and not others?"
The research comes after it was revealed that a blunder in recording the wishes of people on the organ donor register may have led to some people having organs removed that they had not wished to donate.
The families involved have been written to and around 400,000 other people, who registered on the donor register through the driving licence application, will have their records checked.
It was feared the fiasco could lead to a collapse in the organ donor register and transplantation in general.
Demand for organ donors has increased in recent years and now far exceeds supply. This is due to an ageing population and improvements in medicine that mean more people could benefit from transplants.
Demand for sperm and egg donations has also risen due to new treatments and procedures to help infertility.
(LB/BMcC)
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12 October 2004
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Awareness campaign leads to rise in transplant ops
Last year saw a 3% increase in the number of transplant operations that took place in the UK in 2002, according to the health department.
31 July 2009
Private Organ Transplants To Be Banned
The government is set to ban private transplants of organs from dead donors in the UK. The announcement follows the publication of a report into organ transplants for NHS patients and non-UK residents by Elisabeth Buggins, former Chair of the Organ Donation Taskforce.
Private Organ Transplants To Be Banned
The government is set to ban private transplants of organs from dead donors in the UK. The announcement follows the publication of a report into organ transplants for NHS patients and non-UK residents by Elisabeth Buggins, former Chair of the Organ Donation Taskforce.
19 October 2010
Reassurances Offered To Organ Donors
A detailed review into how and why errors were made in recording the donation wishes of new would-be organ donors has been published today.
Reassurances Offered To Organ Donors
A detailed review into how and why errors were made in recording the donation wishes of new would-be organ donors has been published today.
23 August 2012
Record-Breaking Year For Organ Transplants
In a record-breaking year, 3,960 transplants were carried out in the UK in 2011/12, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) announced today. The Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report 2012 shows the seventh year of growth in the number of transplants.
Record-Breaking Year For Organ Transplants
In a record-breaking year, 3,960 transplants were carried out in the UK in 2011/12, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) announced today. The Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report 2012 shows the seventh year of growth in the number of transplants.
17 November 2008
'Presumed Consent' Plans Rejected
A panel of experts has rejected plans for a new system of "presumed consent" organ donation. The UK Organ Donation Taskforce, set up by the Government to help increase the number of organ donors, said there was not enough evidence to suggest the changes would see an increase in donation rates.
'Presumed Consent' Plans Rejected
A panel of experts has rejected plans for a new system of "presumed consent" organ donation. The UK Organ Donation Taskforce, set up by the Government to help increase the number of organ donors, said there was not enough evidence to suggest the changes would see an increase in donation rates.
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