It's actually not clear if this will significantly increase donation rates. A similar change was made in Wales in 2015, and so far it hasn't made much differenc

It's actually not clear if this will significantly increase donation rates. A similar change was made in Wales in 2015, and so far it hasn't made much difference either way to donation rates[0]. (As an aside, the article title should say "people living in England" not "UK citizens" - this change in law applies to England only). The reason it didn't really make much difference in Wales seems to be because the previous system (which until today was also the system in England) was already pretty good. Under the previous system either you were on the organ donor register (in which case next of kin had no legal option to refuse donation) or next of kin were asked to consent to donation (which most did). (There was also a register for people who definitely didn't want to be donors which also removed the right to consent from next of kin). I'm not sure what the 30% statistic you refer to is, but I'd guess it is the number of people on the "opt-in" register. In reality a larger proportion do have next of kin consent. The new system, I think, effectively reverses that - there is a register for opting out and if you're on that then next of kin cannot consent. Likewise there is also still an opt-in register which, if you're on it, means next of kin cannot refuse consent. All that's changed, I think, is that if you're not on either register then when doctors do ask next of kin (and if the potential donor is not in an excluded group, eg under 18), if next of kin say "I don't know" then doctors will be able to take that as "yes" not "no". I do think this is a positive change, because it means next of kin are less likely to be asked put under pressure to answer what is a very difficult and intrusive question which often they haven't previously thought about at the most difficult time. But I wouldn't assume that suddenly donor rates will increase as a result. [0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-42213813 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-42213813