PN MP Who Donated Kidney Wants Everyone To Be An Organ Donor In ‘Opt-Out’ System
PN MP Ivan Bartolo has called for a change in Malta’s organ donation laws that would see everyone considered a potential organ donor after they die unless they specifically voice their objection.
In an email to Health Minister Chris Fearne, Bartolo said an “opt-out” system would significantly increase the number of organs available to people on the national transplant waiting list and cut down on bureaucracy involved in the process of finding donors.
“I would like to discus this with someone you trust so guidelines can be provided to push this idea forwards,” Bartolo wrote.
Organ donation is a topic very close to Bartolo’s heart, the PN MP having famously donated a kidney to a total stranger a few years ago.
However, he is in a small minority, with data from 2018 indicating that only some 3% of Maltese people are registered as organ donors.
The opt-out system, which has been implemented in the likes of England, France, Spain, Belgium, Croatia and Switzerland, presumes that a significant chunk of people wouldn’t mind donating their organs after they die but, for whatever reason, wouldn’t like to go through the registration process.
People who wouldn’t like to donate their organs would still be able to opt out.
Should Malta implement an opt-out system for organ donation?
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