Those Who Won't Donate Organs Should Still Be Eligible For Transplants Says Darren Adam

6 August 2018, 05:34 | Updated: 6 August 2018, 05:37

Darren Adam has explained why those who choose to opt out of donating their organs under a system of presumed consent should still be eligible to receive organ transplants from others.

Richard phoned the LBC host from Hackney during a debate around plans to create an 'opt out' system in England, like the one already in place in Wales. The caller argued that choosing to opt out of donating organs after death and leaving others to lose their lives too is "possibly the most selfish attitude".

Darren backed Richard on this, but argued that "people have a right to be selfish".

This led Richard to question whether those who opt out of donating their organs should be allowed to receive organ transplants from others, or if they should be last in the queue for organs in their hour of need.

However, Darren pointed out that "we don't currently push people down the list for any other reason than medical necessity [and] we certainly don't do it for moral reasons", including if people have committed horrible crimes.

The LBC presenter concluded the chat by arguing that "when we're talking about something as existential as the difference between life and death, surely the only decisions that can be made in that arena have to be made on clinical determinations, not moral ones".