Publication - Consultation analysis
Organ and tissue donation and transplantation: analysis of consultation responses
Responses to consultation on ways of increasing the numbers of organ and tissue donations.
Annex 2: Question response rates
Table A2.1: Number of comments made at each question and response rate
| Question | Number of responses | Response rate (% of total 824) |
| Question 1: What do you think of the principle of a soft opt out system for Scotland? [I support the principle of a soft opt out system in Scotland / I do not support the principle of soft opt out] | 801 | 97% |
| Question 2: Are there any changes you would make to the current opt in authorisation system, other than moving to an opt out system? | 455 | 55% |
| Question 3: Where someone has joined the Organ Donor Register ( ODR) or indicated in another way that they wish to donate, what do you think should happen if the potential donor's family opposes the donation? [Medical staff should still proceed with the donation / Medical staff should not proceed with the donation] | 800 | 97% |
| Question 4: If there was a soft opt out system, what do you think of the proposed checks above? [These are sufficient to decide if a donation can be deemed to be authorised / These are not sufficient to decide if a donation can be deemed to be authorised / Don't know] | 798 | 97% |
| Question 4(a): If you think these are not sufficient, what other checks would be needed (apart from those covered in Questions 6 to 8 below)? | 98 | 12% |
| Question 5: In any opt out system, what do you think should happen if a deemed authorisation donation was likely to distress the potential donor's family? [The donation should still proceed / The donation should not proceed / Don't know] | 805 | 98% |
| Question 6: If there was a soft opt out system, what do you think about the categories of people (described in the consultation paper, pages 15 to 17) for whom explicit authorisation would still be needed from the person themselves or a family member? [The categories are sufficient / The categories are not sufficient / Don't know] | 797 | 97% |
| Question 6a: If these are not sufficient why do you think this? | 125 | 15% |
| Question 7: In what circumstances do you think an adult should be viewed as not having the capacity to make their own decisions about donation and therefore should not be subject to any deemed authorisation provisions? | 610 | 74% |
| Question 8: Under what age do you think children should only be donors with explicit authorisation? [Under 12 / Under 16 / Under 18 / Other, please specify] | 795 | 96% |
| Question 9: For children who are in care, what are your views on allowing a local authority which has parental responsibilities and rights for a child to authorise donation for the child if no parent is available? [They should be allowed to authorise donation of a child's organs or tissue in those circumstances / They should not be allowed to authorise donation of a child's organs or tissue / Don't know] | 804 | 98% |
| Question 10: In any opt out system, what provisions do you think should apply to the less common types of organs and tissue? [Deemed authorisation provisions should apply to all organs and tissue / Deemed authorisation provisions should only apply to the more common organs and tissue] | 774 | 94% |
| Question 11: Which tests do you think medical staff should be able to carry out on a potential donor before they withdraw life-sustaining treatment? Blood tests? Urine tests? X-rays? Tests on a sample of chest secretions? Tests on the heart? [Yes / No / Don't know] | 789 - 795 | 96% |
| Question 12: If you answered no to some or all options in Question 11, are there any circumstances when particular tests could be permitted? [If the person had previously made clear they wished to be a donor / If the donor's family provided consent on the donor's behalf / Such tests should never be permitted before death] | 66 | 8% |
| Question 13: Where it is agreed a patient's condition is unsurvivable and it will not cause any discomfort to them, what do you think about medical staff being allowed to provide any forms of medication to a donor before their death in order to improve the chances of their organs being successfully transplanted, such as providing antibiotics to treat an infection or increasing the dose of a drug the patient has already been given? | 798 | 97% |
| Question 14: What do you think about allowing people to appoint one or more authorised representatives to make decisions for them? [This should be allowed / This is not necessary / Don't know] | 804 | 98% |
| Question 14a: If you think this should be allowed, in what circumstances do you think an authorised representative would be useful? | 305 | 37% |
| Question 15: Do you have any other comments which you think should be taken into account in relation to any Scottish opt out system? | 342* | 42% |
| Question 16: What do you think about providing Chief Medical Officer ( CMO) guidance to encourage clinicians to refer almost all dying or recently deceased patients for consideration as a potential organ or tissue donor? [ CMO guidance should be provided to encourage more referrals / CMO guidance should not be provided / Other] | 792 | 96% |
| Question 17: What do you think about making it a procedural requirement for clinicians to involve a specialist nurse for organ donation, tissue donor coordinator or another individual with appropriate training in approaches to families about donation, wherever that is feasible? [This should be a requirement / This should not be a requirement] | 797 | 97% |
| Question 18: Do you think there are particular impacts or implications for any equalities groups from any of the proposals in this consultation, either positive or negative? [Yes / No / Don't know] If yes, please provide details. | 791 | 96% |
* Note that the 342 Question 15 responses include (i) responses incorporating comments directly related to tick-box questions which did not provide a space for additional comment; and (ii) 100 responses comprising the words 'no', 'none', etc.
Contact
Email: Fern Morris
Phone: 0300 244 4000 – Central Enquiry Unit
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
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