Draft Human Tissue (Permitted Material: Exceptions) (England) Regulations 2020

Baroness Randerson Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Randerson (LD)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chancellor of Cardiff University, which includes Cardiff medical school. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and many others for all the work they have done on this important issue. I strongly welcome this debate and the fact that England is now following the lead from Wales. I was involved in the campaign for deemed consent in Wales, which started around 2008. England will be able to build on the Welsh experience as the changes are introduced. I am delighted to see that the noble Lord, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, will speak later as well.

In Wales, after lengthy and thorough public debate and consultation, the Act was passed in July 2013 and the actual changes in procedure were introduced in December 2015, almost two and a half years later. However, by the crucial measure of organ donation consent rates, it has undoubtedly been a success. In Wales, that statistic is now over 80%, compared with around 66% in England.

I must stress how carefully this must be introduced. Thorough training and additional capacity are key to success. A false start now could undermine the whole scheme for years to come, because public confidence is vital, and so the failure to publish the draft code of practice on the internet on the date it was laid is a more than usually worrying omission. As the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said, this is unacceptable given the sensitivity of the subject matter. Can the Minister explain how this happened, and can he provide us with reassurance that procedures have been changed so that we can have more confidence that this will be rolled out properly in the future?

I understand and accept that it is not wise to introduce such sensitive changes while the NHS is under huge pressure because of the pandemic. However, the time must be used not for stalling change but for more preparation, including adaptation to the new ways of working. The rate of transplants has fallen sharply, but people still need organ donations at the same rate. Indeed, there is a backlog of people urgently requiring donation, many of whom have become even more seriously ill while waiting for a donor. The number of organ transplants has fallen by three quarters since the start of the pandemic, as ICU units have been devoted to coronavirus patients.

I was pleased to see that the codes of practice have a strong focus on faith. This is particularly important because of the long-term shortage of BAME donors. In Wales we worked with faith leaders from the early days of the campaign and found their insight and contributions essential in developing guidance.

I understand the decision to exclude certain organs from deemed consent. However, I ask that each of these organs is treated as a separate category, rather than them being grouped together. This is so that, as surgical practice develops, there can be ongoing reconsideration of their status. What is novel in 2020 could be routine by 2025.