Organ Donor Question For Driving Licence Applicants

Organ Donor Question for Driving Licence Applicants

Would-be drivers will be asked if they want to join NHS organ donor register as part of a pilot scheme.

A special box for transporting human organs. Only 27% of people in the UK are registered donors. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

People applying for a driving licence from July will be required to answer a question about organ donation in a government scheme aimed at boosting the number of donors. Under the current system, applicants can skip over a donation question when applying for a driving licence. The new regime, however, will require that they opt to either register for donation, state that they have already signed up or state: "I do not want to answer this question now.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/legal-and-advisory/33797-organ-donor-question-driving-licence-applicants.html

"Only 27% of people in the UK are registered donors, although studies have shown that a far larger proportion are in favour of donating body parts. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which is responsible for organ transplants, last month reported a record high of 3,706 transplants in the UK last year, a 5% rise over the previous year and part of a steady increase since 2000. The year also saw a 7% increase in the number of deceased organ donors, reaching a record high of 959, and a 10% rise in the number of living donors to 1,061.In 2008, the Organ Donation Taskforce at the NHS recommended aiming for a 50% increase in donation rates by 2013. Since then, deceased donation has increased by 19% and the overall donation rate for the UK has risen to 15.5 per million of the population, from 13.1. Despite the rise in donations, demand for organs outstrips supply – 8,000 people are waiting for a transplant and 1,000 people die each year while waiting for one.

"Surveys show that a large number of people in the UK are happy to donate their organs for transplantation but haven't got round to registering," said the public health minister Anne Milton. "We hope that by prompting people into making a decision we can encourage more people to register. We also need people to think and talk about organ donation with their families so people know what family members want. Being an organ donor is a truly selfless act and is the ultimate gift anyone could give. "Prompted choice schemes in the US have increased donor registrations. In Illinois, for example, donor rates have risen from 38% to 60% of the population.

Sally Johnson, director of organ donation and transplantation at NHSBT, said the prompted choice trial with DVLA online applications was welcome. "With three people dying every day in the UK in need of an organ transplant, NHSBT's focus is on encouraging even more people to join the NHS organ donor register (ODR)," she said. "A recent survey showed that 90% of people support organ donation, yet only 29% have joined the ODR. This trial will prompt everyone applying for or renewing their driving licence to take the positive step and sign up to the ODR. "Anyone signing up is urged to discuss their wishes with family and friends to ensure they can confirm their wishes when the time comes.

"The DVLA scheme comes amid debate in the UK about the introduction of presumed consent, where all people are assumed to be willing to donate their organs unless they specifically choose to opt out. Last month the doctors' union, the British Medical Association, renewed its call for further debate on an opt-out system, while the British Heart Foundation said such a scheme would transform the number of available organs in one fell swoop.In April, medical experts put forward a number of suggestions to tackle the shortage of organs and other tissues that are available for transplant operations, including kidneys, hearts and skin. The radical ideas, which included offering funeral expenses for organ donors, emerged in a consultation by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, which canvasses opinion from the public and professionals on different incentives. The independent body will also look at the consequences of opening a free market on organs, which could be openly sold and traded.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33797

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...iving-licences

 
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The world will not change unless the change starts at home

Personally I think it is good to move from an opt in system to an opt out system as people are lazy!! Organ donation is also such a wonderful gift to the recipients. However, I do draw the line at measures encouraging the use of money. Please vote and discuss your views about organ donation.....

Sikhism and organ donation

Sikh philosophy and teachings place great emphasis on the
importance of giving and putting others before oneself.

"Where self exists, there is no God
Where God exists, there is no self."
Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33797

The Sikh faith stresses the importance of performing noble
deeds. There are many examples of selfless giving and sacrifice
in Sikh teachings by the ten Gurus and other Sikhs.

Sikhs believe life after death is a continuous cycle of rebirth
but the physical body is not needed in this cycle – a person’s
soul is their real essence.

"The dead sustain their bond with the living through virtuous deeds."
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33797
Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib

"The Sikh religion teaches that life continues after death in the soul, and
not the physical body. The last act of giving and helping others through
organ donation is both consistent with, and in the spirit of, Sikh teachings."
Dr Indarjit Singh OBE, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations UK
Endorsed by Sikh Authorities in Amritsar, Punjab

"The true servants of God are those who serve Him through
helping others."
Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib

- friend

PERSONAL NOTE:
I have been on the organ & blood donors list for years now & have been a recipient of a cornea transplant!

This is a regular part of the driver's license procedure in the US and has been - I cannot remember for how long. Every 5 years when one renews one's license one can answer the question again, which gives anyone a chance to opt in again or opt out. Members of religions that might have a problem, therefore, have total control over whether to be organ donors. And as Soul_jyot has indicated -- for Sikhs there would be no religious barriers.

It's the same in Australia -- the question is right there on the application form and you just tick a box "yes" or "no".
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33797

In fact, if you approach the organ donor organisation directly, they send you a list of boxes where to can specify what you do and don't want harvested, like your heart or your eyes, etcetc.

I've always been a donor. If I don't need my parts anymore and someone else does, then they can have them!
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33797

Ish

I read somehwere that 3 people..one of whom is an elredly Sikh Woman Doctor who DIED after receiving an organ from a tainted donor...all organs donated must be certiifed good and healthy...so unfortunate that 3 good people died for nothing...(donor was in australia i think)

Gyani ji,
That is so sad. Any medical procedure involves risks and safety measures should always be in place. The benefits from organ donation outweigh the negatives but yet so few people are donors. I remember a few years ago there was a big drive to encourage Asians (I include Chinese and Indian sub continent in this) to become donors in the UK as so few seem inclined to it yet Asian culture is supposed to spiritual so the inertia there confuses me. The other part of the article that caught my attention was this one;
The opt in vs opt out debate isn't really much of a debate but other ways of encouraging organ donation are highly controversial. I think it is in China that organ donation from live donors for money has been reported. Questions are also there about designer babies such as in the book My Sister's Keeper. It begs the question how far can you go? What's reasonable? Where is the line between one life and another?

Former Jathedar of AKAL TAKHAT Prof Mnajeet Singh is a Pledged DONOR in MALAYSIA....i hope he remembers the pledge....and it wanst just a publicity stunt to please his chamchas in Malaysia...