“HUNDREDS of sub-standard transplant organs taken from drug addicts as shortage grows” was the alarming headline. It followed the release of new figures from UK Transplant, which runs the programme, that 450 organs had been used from donors whose deaths involved drugs.

The inference was clear: dodgy organs were being used from dodgy donors.

The true story is rather different. Yes, 450 donors were indeed recorded as having had deaths in which drugs were involved. But in all but a handful, these “drugs” were medicines. Take away the connotations of street drugs – the physical effects of long-term abuse and possible infection with HIV or hepatitis – and the story changes.

Every organ offered for donation is carefully scrutinised before being accepted. Two thirds of the offered hearts are rejected, for instance. And one health factor alone does not decide suitability – not even the amount of alcohol consumed by liver donors. Take two men, one fat, one thin, and both drinking the same large amount each week. The gutty boozer might also have a fatty liver that would be useless for transplant, but the thin man’s may still be OK.

The perfect organ donor is a 20-year-old who has died from head injury. Thankfully, there aren’t too many of those. Age makes a 60-year-old a less-than-perfect donor, but many in this age group are in very good health. Should their organs be deemed sub-standard? The point is that three people are going to die from organ failure today. Having an organ that works, even if it is less than perfect, is a whole lot better than dying. We don’t have enough spare organs to get too fussy.

Many people, including the Chief Medical Officer, have called for “presumed consent” to be introduced to overcome the shortage of organs. This means that people’s organs will be harvested on their death, unless they opt out.

The Health Secretary has recently asked the Organ Donor Task Force, of which I’m a member, to consider this.

It seems like the obvious solution, yet there are many potential pitfalls to consider – for example, some community leaders calling for mass “opt-outs” on religious grounds, as has already occurred with Muslims in Singapore. The task force’s recommendations to increase the availability of organs by 50 per cent will appear early next year. Its deliberations on presumed consent will follow later in the year. Meanwhile, we have to do what we can with what we’ve got – and alarmist headlines really don’t help.

To register as an organ donor visit www.uktransplant.org.uk

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