A majority of Atlantic Canadians would prefer a presumed consent model for organ donation where people not wanting to participate have the option to opt out, according to a new Corporate Research Associates survey.
CRA said in a release today Atlantic Canadians currently must opt in to register for organ donation. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, residents must tick a box to become a donor when applying or renewing their health cards, while residents of Newfoundland and Labrador are required to apply for a donor card or indicate on their driver's licence that they wish to become a donor.
CRA says 56 per cent of people surveyed in Newfoundland and Labrador indicated they would support an opt-out approach which implies presumed consent.
Sixty per cent surveyed in Nova Scotia indicated they would support this concept and 55 per cent in New Brunswick.
“Given the growing need for organ donation, changing from an opt-in to an opt-out approach presents a significant opportunity to increase the availability of such organs and save many more lives,” said Don Mills, CRA chairman and CEO.
These results are part of the CRA Atlantic Quarterly, an independent, quarterly survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a sample of 1,200 adult Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador residents, conducted from Aug. 9 to 31.
CRA says results are accurate to within plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.
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I think that the spirit of organ and tissue donation is not in effort to remove dignity or cause anguish to those willing to sacrifice and give the gift of life through donation to another. The goal of deceased donation is to save or enhance the life of another person when one has been declared dead, either in the traditional sense of when the heart starts beating, or also in the case of donation after cardiac death or neurologically determined brain death. It is about the right to choose and the right to help save a life, not dismantle it or destroy it, or abuse the gifts given in altruism. Good on Atlantic Canadians willing to help a neighbour.