Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a very comprehensive report on organ donation. As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, I thank those who presented or gave written submissions on this topic. I pay tribute to the patients who gave a real insight into the effects of debilitating illness before organ donation and their feelings of well-being after transplant operations. Many of them described the transformation of their lives after the operation, and these were real and compelling accounts. For some, organ donations provide a platform for a "Yes" or "No" debate based on theory, supposition and a question of morality. What should not be forgotten is that real people are suffering, hoping and praying for the call that will offer an organ with the potential to transform their lives. In many cases, lives are saved with this call. We have a duty to make it easier for these people to access organs.

Contributions from associations such as the Irish Kidney Association and Irish Heart and Lung Transplant Association have ensured that this report is fully representative and understanding of the position pertaining to organ donation. I also pay tribute to the very able Deputy Buttimer, Chairman of the committee, who ensured this report was comprehensive and well-informed. He was aided by the committee clerk, who is present today.

In Ireland there are currently an average of 80 organ donations per annum, but in 2010 the number was as low as 58. There are fewer than 3,000 people in Ireland enjoying extended life because of organ donation and there are as many as 650 people waiting for heart, liver, lung, kidney and pancreas transplants. Are these numbers acceptable, and can we do something about that? Spain has the highest donation rate in the world, with 35 donors per million of population. Opt-out legislation was introduced in Spain in 1979 and permits organs to be taken for transplant with the consent of family or in the absence of any known objection by the deceased.

I firmly believe the report's recommendation of transitioning to a soft opt-out system will greatly improve the system of organ donation and ultimately save lives. Study after study has concluded that countries with opt-out legislation have higher organ donation rates than most countries with opt-in legislation. The soft opt-out approach protects the autonomy and dignity of the deceased by placing the stewardship of the decision with the family. Therefore, the goal of soft opt-out is to encourage organ donation to be the social norm. It does not devalue organ donation as an extraordinary gift from one family to another.

Since the soft oft-opt out measure is part of the Human Tissue Bill, I urge the Minister to enact it speedily. This Bill was originally promised in 2009 and has still to be enacted. This is a source of considerable frustration for patient groups. I am confident the current Government, unlike the last one, will ensure the Bill’s enactment. Legislation in isolation does not enhance organ donation. For a successful transition to a soft opt-out system, organ donation and transplantation infrastructure must be greatly improved and prepared.

I thank the Minister for allocating the €2.9 million for 19 new posts in the HSE service plan for 2014 in respect of organ donation and transplantation. However, I urge him to expedite recruitment of the relevant staff, allocated in the service plan, for the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Office. This office will play a vital role, working with transplant centres, donating hospitals, patient groups and other agencies to ensure improved organ donation rates. According to Professor Jim Egan, director of the office, the deployment of the office would help bring Ireland in line with international practice norms, save vast sums of money and, most important, save lives.

It is essential that the main transplant hospitals - Beaumont, the Mater and St. Vincent’s - be provided with the appropriate infrastructure to cater for the expected increase in the number of organ transplantations. I am confident the Minister will note both the committee's report and my recommendations today in taking his next steps regarding organ donation and transplantation.

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