title: Is an opt-out organ donation system desirable? Comments on a new law.
abstract: A law that introduces an opt-out system for organ donation has recently come into force in Wales. The debate surrounding the effectiveness and ethical acceptability of an opt-out system continues, though the available data have still not provided definitive proof that an opt-out system is more efficient than an opt-in system. Systems based on implied consent but with specific safeguards would appear more suitable and more respectful of ethical principles than those based on a more aggressive form of presumed consent.
authors.affiliation: Head of the Bioethics Unit, Office of the President, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian National Institute of Health), Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petrini
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D019724:Presumed Consent / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014852:Wales
keywords: Bioethics; Informed consent; Legislatio; Organ transplantation