Grieving relatives should no longer have the ability to overturn organ donors’ decisions, according to a transplant support group.

Alfred Debattista, who heads Malta Transplant Support, an NGO, is calling upon the government to give organ donors the final say as to what happens to their organs after they die.

“People who have signed up to be donors should not have their decision overturned by their next of kin,” Mr Debattista said.

The current hospital practice allows next of kin to decide what happens when their relatives pass away, and although doctors often convince the bereaved to uphold the deceased’s wishes, Mr Debattista is lobbying for a law to enforce donors’ decisions.

“The organ donor card should be binding. The only time it should be overturned is when the donors themselves have had a change of heart, or have taken up a new religion,” he said. The suggestion is among a set of proposals submitted to the government last month ahead of an upcoming review of the donation policy.

A spokeswoman for the Health Ministry told The Sunday Times of Malta that a new law on organ donation would be discussed in Parliament when the House reconvenes next month.

People who have signed up to be donors should not have their decision overturned by their next of kin

Mr Debattista said this would be a first as there was currently no legal structure on organ donations whatsoever. Instead, the only guideline was a flimsy policy followed by doctors at Mater Dei Hospital.

“We don’t have much of a legal structure on organ donation. The current framework deals mostly with illegal transplants. What we need is a comprehensive law to cover all aspects on this,” Mr Debattista, who himself received a heart transplant 14 years ago, said.

Some 2,000 people sign up to be organ donors every year, giving Malta one of the highest donor rates in Europe. Some 30,000 are currently registered to give out organs.

Despite this, just between 10 and 20 deaths per year offer the possibility of organ harvesting. These have to be brain deaths, which usually occur as a result of traffic accidents, a fall or brain haemorrhage. Plus, the patient would have to be on a ventilator at the hospital’s Intensive Therapy Unit when they pass away. As a result of the particular requirements, 91 people are still waiting for transplants. The majority, 83, are hoping to receive new kidneys.

Away from the island’s shores, different countries adopt different systems on donation.

Malta follows the British method: the opt-in system where individuals are asked to register to be donors and require informed consent.

Some countries, such as Scotland, strongly recommend the express wishes of the individual competently made before death should take priority over the wishes of surviving relatives.

Other countries follow the presumed consent system, where once the death is confirmed it is assumed donation will take place unless the person had registered an objection during his or her life.

Figures reveal a glaring difference between the two methods.

Germany’s opt-in system, for instance, results in a nine per cent donor rate. Neighbouring Austria, a country with very similar economic and social development but which has introduced an opt-out model, has a 99.98 per cent organ donor rate.

Mr Debattista said providing a legal structure may not increase the occurrence of successful transplants, but it may provide a more secure framework for those seeking the lifesaving organs.

“This is about improving the system. We don’t want to shock society, we just want a better set-up,” he said.

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