The act allows hospitals to presume that people aged 18 or over, who have been resident in Wales for over 12 months, want to donate their organs at their death, unless they have objected specifically.
[4] Under the act, for organs (hearts, lungs, livers, pancreas and kidneys and corneas) to be available for transplant, a person must consent to their use on an 'opt-in' basis.
According to Taskforce member, Dr Paul Murphy, "There is an association between countries with presumed consent and higher donation rates, but we could not see that link was a causal one.
By modelling different scenarios, we show that only a policy of presumed consent will substantially increase the number of organs available for transplantation".
Legislation, availability of donors, organisation and infrastructure of the transplantation service, wealth and investment in health care, and public attitudes to and awareness of organ donation may all play a part, but their relative importance is unclear".
Noting that substantial sums were provided to UKT by the Welsh Government, the committee put forward three recommendations to ensure the needs of Wales were met.
[27][28] In September 2008, Edwina Hart, Minister for Health and Social Care, rejected the committee's main recommendation, saying it did not reflect the weight of public opinion in favour of presumed consent.
[31] The Welsh Government announced their intention, in December 2009, to submit a Legislative Competence Order (LCO) introducing a soft opt-out system of presumed consent organ donation in Wales.
This allowed primary law to be made in the Senedd, freeing the Assembly from the requirement to seek permission from Westminster for an LCO before it could enact legislation on devolved matters.
Consequently, on 9 March 2013, Edwina Hart, Minister for Health and Social Services, withdrew the LCO from consideration by the Secretary of State for Wales and the Welsh Affairs Committee in London.
[37] Believing insufficient time remained to write and consider a new bill before the Assembly's dissolution, Hart urged the next government to pursue new primary legislation permitting the system of presumed consent organ donation that she favoured.
[41] In the First Minister's Legislative Programme statement, Jones told the Assembly the government would introduce a bill by the end of 2011, "with a view to a new soft opt-out system being implemented in 2015".
[42] A white paper proposing introducing a soft opt-out system of organ donation in Wales was published by the Welsh Government in November 2011.
[44] The white paper proposed permitting the removal of organs and tissue for transplant of adults who had lived and died in Wales, unless they had objected during their lifetime.
[17] Further consultation was sought on the Welsh Government's Draft Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill and Explanatory Memorandum, published in June 2012.
Of the 2,977 responses, 2,688 were identical or similar letters from (whom Dr Chris Jones NHS Wales medical director described as) "lobbying organisations" concerning the definition of brain-stem death, which would not change under the proposals.
The bill's purpose was to establish a soft opt-out system, applying to people aged 18 and over who had lived in Wales for more than six months.
The Welsh Government also published further research giving evidence of "an association" between opt-out laws and increased rates of organ donation, of 13–18 per cent.
[50] Mark Drakeford, Minister for Health and Social Services since March 2013, moved the motion to agree the General Principles of the Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill in the Assembly on 16 April 2013.
Of the 42 amendments considered, 22 were agreed, including extending the period of residency in Wales for deemed consent to apply, from six to twelve months.