Whose body is it anyway?.

With the growing queue of patients awaiting organ transplants, there is increasing pressure on the government to take a bolder approach to organ donation. Is it time to shift the emphasis from the rights of the donor to the rights of the recipient by requiring those who do not wish to donate their organs to carry an opt-out card? The Government Advisory Committee supports this idea, pointing to the failure of advertising campaigns for donors. Another option, highly controversial, is elective ventilation. This involves keeping dying patients on ventilators in order to maintain their organs in good condition for transplant. The medical profession is deeply divided over this and it is even uncertain whether it is lawful. Taking part in the programme are Elizabeth Ward, President of the British Kidney Patients' Association and Tom Sackville, Junior Health Minister.