Everyone 'should donate organs,' England's chief medical officer says.

[BurtWorm]

Toasterlad is not alone. I think this is a sane idea. If you don't want your body harvested, you should be allowed to say so. But doctors should presume consent in every case where it hasn't been explicitly denied.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6902519.stm

There is a major shortage of organs available

Everyone should be seen as a potential organ donor on their death unless they expressly request not to be, England's chief medical officer says.

Sir Liam Donaldson calls for a system of "presumed consent" to be introduced to tackle chronic shortages of organs.

One person dies each day after failing to find a suitable donor, Department of Health figures suggest.

But scrapping a system under which people must clearly state their wish to be a donor will prove controversial.

Such a move was rejected by MPs when they voted on the Human Tissues Act in 2004.

Both the then Health Secretary John Reid and Health Minister Rosie Winterton declared it was not up to Parliament to make decisions about what became of people's bodies when they died.