Two consultations and a year-long campaign before Daniel's Law is implemented

Cabinet Office publishes timeline for implementing opt-out organ donation

Two public consultations, a year-long public campaign and approval by the Council of Ministers will be needed before an opt-out organ donation system comes into force on the Isle of Man.

Daniel's Law received Royal Assent in July 2021, but is yet to be introduced on the Island.

The opt-out system would see all Manx residents automatically enrolled as organ donors, unless they choose to remove permission.

Former Garff MHK Martyn Perkins put forward the idea in a private members bill in 2020, but since completing the legislative process the following year it hasn't been brought into force.

Last month, Cabinet Office Minister Kate Lord-Brennan confirmed no date had been set for the implementation of the laws, admitting it's a complicated piece of legislation to enact.

But now, her department has published a proposed timeline for introducing the Human Tissue and Organ Donation Act.

Stage 1 will see a steering group reconvened and a project lead appointed, with codes drafted and government stakeholders engaged.

That will be followed by a six-week public consultation on the codes, and a 12-month public campaign.

Stage 3 involves a second public consultation and a summary of responses, before the Cabinet Board and Council of Ministers approve the changes ahead of them being laid before Tynwald at Stage 4.

There'll also need to be training for Manx Care before the act is implemented in Stage 5 of the timeline.

In the meantime, the Cabinet Office says you can register your decision through the Organ Donor Register, and talk to your family about whether you'd consent to donating organs.