All adults in England will be automatically considered organ donors from today, unless they opt out, after a change in the law.

A new system is now in force whereby all those over the age of 18 who are not in any excluded groups will have effectively agreed to donating their organs when they die.

People can still decide not to donate, and family consent will be required for organs to be retrieved.

A similar law was introduced in Wales in 2015, while Scotland is due to have the same scheme in place by autumn 2020. Northern Ireland still has an opt in system.

The NHS claims the change will help save millions of lives, but health minister Lord Bethall said while it comes into force today, it may not come into practice until later “due to the limitations of COVID-19“.

The number of transplants carried out in the UK has dropped dramatically because of the coronavirus pandemic, with just 99 operations performed in April compared with 244 in March, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) figures show.

The system change is called Max and Keira’s law, after a boy whose life was saved when he received the heart of a nine-year-old girl.

Keira Ball saved four lives, including that of Max Johnson, also nine, when her organs were donated after she died in a car crash in 2017.

It is hoped the law will lead to an additional 700 transplants a year by 2023, and spark conversations around organ donation.

Faizan Awan, of Blackburn, is one of thousands in the UK awaiting a transplant and has been on the list for two-and-a-half years.

The 33-year-old is waiting for his third kidney transplant, having received one as a child and, after that failed, another when he was a teenager.

He said: “For many people like me, who are waiting for an organ, the law change is a sign of hope and a transplant would dramatically change my life in a number of ways.”

Mr Awan said he needs a “near-perfect” match after his last two operations failed, which means it will likely have to be someone from the Asian community.

People from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are considerably under-represented on the organ register, with Mr Awan urging people to consider how religion and ethnicity affects donation.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHSBT, added that people should be aware they will still have a choice of whether or not to donate and that families will still be consulted, and faith, beliefs and culture will continue to be respected.

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