Organ donors need to be informed, consenting adults

IRELAND’S kidney transplant charity says that government plans for an “opt-out” system, having organs “donated automatically” is unworkable, but not immoral.

To take personal property (and what could be more personal than one’s organs), without consent is theft, especially wicked when the “donor” is in no position to prevent it.

People might be unaware of the “opting-out” system, may not bother to register (how many people die intestate?), or be afraid of victimisation. Medical records are often incomplete or lost, or might be ignored. To claim “assumed consent” is “donation”, rather than theft, is Orwellian doublespeak.