BMA Northern Ireland has welcomed the news that a long-awaited law on the introduction of soft-opt out organ donation has been given approval to proceed.

The legislation will now advance through the Northern Ireland Assembly by way of urgent procedure. Northern Ireland is the only UK region where soft opt-out organ donation has not been progressed into law.

Dr Tom Black, BMA Northern Ireland Council chair, said: “BMA has long campaigned for the introduction for soft-opt out organ donation here and I am delighted that progress on the legislation can now proceed after years of delay.

“Up to 115 people in Northern Ireland are on the transplant waiting list and last year 11 people died waiting for an organ, so ensuring this legislation is progressed as quickly as possible is vital to saving lives. We hope our elected representatives continue to work towards introducing a soft opt-out system and we look forward to continuing to engage with them on this important issue.”