My organ donation opt-out hell

Opting out of organ donation was one of the hardest things I’ve done in a while. I don’t mean the decision was hard. There’s no way I’m donating my body parts to the state. The hard bit was completing the online form and getting the NHS to accept my decision.

If you didn’t notice, the law changed on 20 May so that everyone over 18 must fill out a form if they do NOT wish to be carved up after death. If you don’t submit this form, your organs automatically become the property of the state and, once they’ve taken the bits they need, your relatives get to bury what’s left.

Many will say how callous I am to point this out as being in some way wrong and thus deny a child, potentially, the chance of life from a transplant.

After all, I won’t know anything about it. This rationalism is being deployed even by religious leaders, including the Roman Catholics who kind of used to represent me a bit, but increasingly don’t at all, and who are twisting about on the head of a pin to make legalised body-snatching morally valid.

Of course I want to save a child’s life, and not just someone who has worn out their organs drinking, smoking and overeating.