Lib Dem Councillor Charlotte Barnes, a regular blood donor, and a one-time bone marrow donor, spoke to Jim Hawkins on BBC Radio Shropshire this morning (listen here, starts around 1:20). She describes how she once saved someone’s life as a bone marrow donor.
After that adventure, Charlotte raised the issue of organ donation in a Shropshire Council meeting. The result of that debate is a Shropshire Council survey on whether we should have an opt-in or opt-out donor register.
Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board is asking county residents is whether they wish to remain with the current ‘opt in’ policy, or would prefer the ‘opt out’ policy – meaning that everyone is automatically considered to be a potential donor unless they opt out of doing so.
This is not a decision that can be made in Shropshire. But if the majority response is for an ‘opt out’ policy, the council will lobby central government for a change in policy.
The Shropshire Council consultation is online until 30 June.