Over half of Canadians surveyed support presumed organ donation

Earlier this year, Nova Scotia passed the "Human Organ and Tissue Act" requiring residents of the province to opt-out of donating their organs as opposed to signing up to be an organ donor.

A recently conducted survey sampling a 1000 Canadians coast to coast found that 63% of respondents would support a similar law in their province.

Support for an opt-out system for organ and tissue donation across Canada:
British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec – 66%
Manitoba and Saskatchewan – 63%
Atlantic Canada – 59%
Ontario – 57%https://t.co/wpLceWwkBb

— Mario Canseco (@mario_canseco) August 21, 2019

Under an "Active Donor Registration" system, every person over the age of 18 is considered an organ and tissue donor after death unless they specifically opt-out of a registry.

According to the survey, support for the new system reached 66% in BC, Alberta and Quebec, with the majority of respondents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (63%), Ontario (57%) and Atlantic Canada (59%) also supporting the change.

However, BC Health Minister Adrian Dix has stated that the province has no plans to follow Nova Scotia's decision.

Not all Canadians surveyed on board with a new donor system, 25% of respondents across the country said they are opposed to the idea, with 13% remaining undecided.