NHS staff and transplant recipients in Oxfordshire have welcomed a new online driving licence application system, which asks people to consider registering as an organ donor .
It is hoped by the government that the initiative will drive up the number of people on the donor register.
Although surveys indicate that 90 per cent of the population would consider donating, only 18 million people (29 per cent of the UK population) are currently on the register.
Anyone applying for a licence at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency website is now asked to tick one of three boxes to answer a question about organ donation before completing their application: l Yes, I would like to register l I do not wish to answer this question l I am already registered on the NHS organ donor register.
Before the new system was launched on Monday, answering the question was optional. Now it is compulsory.
The ‘prompted choice’ system, asking all driving licence applicants to consider registering as a donor, has proved a success in the US.