Evaluation of deemed consent education programme in England

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Was the deemed consent education and training programme for the legislation change in England implemented effectively?

• IRAS ID

  287067

• Contact name

  Cathy Miller

• Contact email

  cathy.miller@nhsbt.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Birmingham

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  ERN_20-1076, University of Birmingham Ethics; Approval granted, NHS Blood and Transplant Research, Innovation and Novel Technologies Advisory Group (RINTAG)

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  The primary aim for the research is to evaluate a specifically designed educational intervention for the Specialist Nurses in Organ and Tissue Donation covering introduction of the new deemed consent legislation in England.
  There is a worldwide shortage for donor organs for transplantation. To help overcome this shortage several countries have introduced a deemed consent system for organ donation. The Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019 heralds a new system of consent for organ and tissue donation in England, known as ‘opt-out’ or ‘deemed consent’. The new consent arrangements enacted on May 20th 2020, mean that all adults over 18 will be considered potential organ and tissue donors after death, unless they make a decision that they do not want to be a donor, they have nominated a representative to make a decision on their behalf after death, or are in an excluded group.
  At NHS Blood and Transplant a team of Specialist Nurses are responsible for discussing and securing consent for organ donation from potential donor families. Whilst there are around 500,000 deaths per year in UK, only a very small (1%) of the population ever die in circumstances on critical care, where donation is possible. Organ donation is therefore a rare and precious gift.
  Even when the law changes, families will continue to be involved in discussions before organ and tissue donation goes ahead. It is the task of NHS Blood and Transplants (NHSBT) Specialist Nurses in Organ Donation to speak with families about their loved one’s decision and to work with them to secure organ donations.
  To prepare Specialist Nurses for the implementation of the Act, a specifically designed tri-modular education programme was designed:
  1. Legislation
  2. How this will change the organ donation conversation
  3. Consolidation

• REC name

  East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  21/EM/0009

• Date of REC Opinion

  17 Mar 2021

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion