I found out earlier this week that a young relative of mine had suddenly and tragically died. At just 15 years old he had collapsed from a brain haemorrhage, and was dead by the time he arrived at hospital.

On Facebook, a page set up in memory of him had hundreds of people become members within the first day of being set up. Tributes poured in for a young man described as 'generous and thoughtful.'

I have thought about and questioned his death quite a lot over the past days. In a newspaper article praising his thoughtfulness, it told how he had raised money for charity, and had walked some 12 miles to lay a floral tribute every time a marine based at his local Condor had died. He had aspirations to join the marines himself.

Then my Gran told me that since dying, he had saved six lives through organ donation.

I'm sure many people would say ''I would happily donate my organs if I died'', but for a young person, still technically a child, to have the foresight and thought for others to do so was heartwarming.

In this country we have what's known as the 'opt-in' system, whereby a person must give prior consent, either through telling a relative or registering with the organ donor's register or carrying a donor card, to say they would donate their organs.

The other system, used in countries such as Sweden, Spain and Austria is the 'opt-out' system. Under a system of "opting out" or "presumed consent", every person living in that country is deemed to have given their consent to organ donation unless they have specifically "opted out" by recording in writing their unwillingness to give organs.

Surely this should now be the system in use in this country? If you die and have the ability to save the lives of others with organs that are no longer any use to you then by default they should become available for donation. If a person has some profound moral or religious objection to this then they would make a point of 'opting-out'.

The British Medical Journal published a conservative estimate that the number of available organs would rise by 30% if there were a switch to presumed consent instead of the present "opt-in" donor card system. This means there is a huge amount of needless pain and anguish for those who urgently need a transplant and their loved ones.

The fact that the profound sadness that is felt by the kin of a person who passes away can be prevented in the families of six more people should be proof enough that this system is for the best.

This has made me make a point of registering for organ donation. You can do so by following the link at the bottom or clicking here. It only takes five minutes but it could mean life or death for someone someday.

Rest in peace Andrew



To register for organ donation, follow the link below:

https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/Consent.do?campaign=1960