People will have the option to register for organ donation when they apply for a new passport from next year.
Under plans designed to boost organ donation, a new link will appear in the passport application process to enable adults applying to renew their ID to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Currently, over 7,000 people are waiting for a life-saving transplant, the highest number in almost a decade.
Clinicians have warned that opportunities for lifesaving transplants are being missed, with 1,130 families declining to donate their loved ones’ organs last year.
NHS Blood and Transplant data shows that donation is most likely to go ahead when the person who has died has consented for this to happen through the NHS register, with nine out of 10 families supporting the decision when this is the case.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien said: “Every organ donor can save and improve up to nine lives which is why we’re working hard to grow the NHS Organ Donor Register.
“As our next step to drive up life-saving registrations, we’re going to be providing adults with the option to sign up to donate when they renew their passport. We hope to inspire more people to sign up.
“Nine out of 10 families would agree to donation if they knew what their loved ones wanted. The more people we can get to join the register, the more lives we can save.”
As it stands 30 million people have recorded their organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register, representing approximately 45% of the total population.
People can sign up directly through the website as well as through partner channels.
The long-running DVLA scheme has accounted for 69% of all organ donor registrations while 500,000 people have singed up through the NHS app since it was launched in 2019.
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Home Officer Minister, Lord Murray said the passport renewal service provides the opportunity to reach over 3.5 million adults every year.
He said the government will look at other digital routes to inspire people to make the decision.
“This is just the first step forward, and we will be looking further at how we can use the passport application system to raise more awareness of how to join the NHS Organ Donor Register in the future.”
Dr Jo Farrar, chief executive of NHS Blood and Transplant said: “This Organ Donation Week we urge everyone to confirm their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
“We know from the success of our partnership with the DVLA, that people are keen for us to make registering their organ donation decision as easy as possible and many people have confirmed that decision when applying for their driving licence.
“We hope that doing the same for passport applications will give more people the chance to save even more lives.”
