The soft opt-out will come into effect on June 17 and it is expected to increase the donor pool of organs for over 600 people on the transplant list.
It follows an announcement today by the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, that she is commencing Part 2 of the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024.
Today’s News in 90 seconds – 9th May 2025
She said: “In commencing this part of the Act, we are providing, for the first time, a national legislative framework for donation and transplantation services in Ireland.
“The legislation introduces a soft opt-out system of consent for organ donation meaning that when a person dies it is presumed that they would wish to donate their organs after their death unless they have objected to donation.
“This is a significant moment for healthcare in Ireland and respecting potential donors wishes will be fundamental to it. Family members will always be consulted before any action is taken.”
Consent for organ donation will be deemed unless the person has, while alive, registered their wish not to become an organ donor after death.
A person’s willingness to donate their organs after their death “will be assumed, unless they make a statement of objection to donation,” under the law. Previously, decisions about organ donation were the responsibility of the next-of-kin.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said the law will also expand pathways for living and altruistic organ donations. The aim of these measures is to increase the donor pool in Ireland by making organ donation “the norm”, while always fully respecting the wishes of people and their families.
Families will continue to be consulted as part of a safe and respectful organ donation process, while the wishes of the deceased should be central to any decision.
The Act also provides a framework for the donation of organs, tissues and cells from living donors and introduces a legislative basis for non-directed altruistic living donation – donation by living donors to the transplant system, not a specific person, where donations can be assigned to patients identified by clinical staff..
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