England changed its organ donation law in 2020. All eligible adults are now presumed willing to donate their organs after death unless they opt out. The change was intended to increase the supply of donated organs, but 8,746 people in the UK are still waiting for a transplant, and just 1,650 transplants have taken place since April 2026.
This year, NHS Blood and Transplant, which manages organ donation in England, issued an urgent appeal after donation fell by 9%. So why has opt-out not delivered?
