Organ donation in Jersey

How to register

To join the register, you can:

• fill in the online form
• call NHS organ donation on 0300 123 23 23

Organ donation law in Jersey

All adults in Jersey are considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die (deemed consent) unless they have opted out and made the decision not to donate.

You can:

• register a decision to donate via the organ donation register
• register a decision not to donate via the organ donation register
• do nothing and it will be assumed that you have no objection to being considered for organ donation
  

If there's no recorded decision for you on the NHS Organ Donor Register, it will be considered that you agree to be a potential organ donor when you die. However, in such cases, your family will be involved in the process and asked if they have any information that indicates you would not have wanted to be an organ donor despite there being no registered decision to that effect.

Organ donation in Jersey and the issue of consent to donation is governed by the Human Transplantation and Anatomy (Jersey) Law 2018 and Regulations made under that Law. The registration of a decision to donate or not to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register is permitted under that Jersey legislation. 

Excluded groups

There are some groups the deemed consent doesn’t apply to:

• persons under 18 years of age
• those who lacked capacity to understand the notion of deemed consent before their death
• adults who have not been ordinarily resident in Jersey for 12 months immediately before their death

Deciding what to do

If you want to be an organ donor, you can choose to donate some or all of your organs by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

If you do not want to be an organ donor, you should register a ‘refuse to donate’ decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. This is also known as opting out.

If you want to change your decision, which is already registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register, you should amend your registration.

For a number of reasons, an individual might not wish to register a decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register or may not have had the chance to do so before their death. In these cases an individual may still be taken to have 'opted out' from donation if, for example, they expressed an opt out wish to their family or their GP prior to their death. 

Tell your family and friends

It’s important to tell your family and friends if you want to be a donor or would not wish to be considered for organ donation when you die.

This is because medical practitioners will consult your family and friends when you die as part of the consideration of any potential for organ donation, and particularly in the absence of an express decision as to consent, your family and friends’ account of your views will be important in that process. 

More information

You can find out more about organ donation on the NHS Organ Donation website and the leaflet and booklet below or email us.

Organ donation A4 booklet

Organ donation leaflet English version

Organ donation leaflet Portuguese version

Organ donation leaflet Polish version