It is worth keeping it in mind that the part of the UK that has the highest level of organ donations per head of population is Scotland. We need to be careful not to think that the need for an increased number of organs can be addressed by an opt-out system. There are countries that already have an opt-out system that have a very low donation level. That is not a solution in itself.

We are guided on such matters by the Scottish transplant group, which is made up of clinical experts, donor recipients and their families and carers. At this point, the group’s opinion is that an opt-out system is not appropriate.

We need to continue to build on the very good progress that we have made through the infrastructure changes that we have made, which have delivered record numbers of organ donations. Through our new plan for transplantation, we intend to continue to drive that progress forward in future years.