Professor Jim Egan:

Mr. Murphy and I have debated this repeatedly over the years. The donor card, which has been championed laudably by the Irish Kidney Association for four decades, is a call to arms. It is a foil for discussion. The register is potentially a more formal structure but, at the end of the day, the register in many ways ends up speaking to the converted. With the infrastructure that the UK has put in, they at best get 40% of their population. We would anticipate 5% to 10% of folk are not into this. Then there is the population who will carry their donor card and will give. We estimate that at best that is 40% of the population. The remainder, 50%, are too busy and absolutely appropriately not thinking about organ donation. The core issue is to have the medical staff and nursing staff there to support the families in the decision, an education programme, a public awareness programme and infrastructure to support those families.

There is no magic bullet. It is about building a system like a jigsaw so that one has a comprehensive approach to organ donation. As Mr. Murphy said, the Spaniards have achieved this over three decades. We have made good progress since the European directive in 2012 but we are some way behind the sophistication of other jurisdictions. We need to build that.

I emphasis that there is no magic bullet. The legislation is not a magic bullet. I was at pains to emphasise, while we have no legislation, that probably the jewel in the crown is the infrastructure to support the families. We are in the business of saving lives and every effort is made to prevent somebody from dying. In tragic circumstances, we hope to have the infrastructure in modern medicine, as compared to when I started in the business. The intensive care units, the quality of care and the sophistication that goes on is breathtaking. We hope that in the general population, underpinned by the legislation, the mood music will be that people will consider donation after death because it saves lives.