KEY POINTS:
A law aimed at boosting numbers of organ donations passed last night - but critics say it lacks the muscle to ensure donors' wishes come first.
The Human Tissues Act sets out a clear procedure for legal "informed consent" to be given, either in writing or orally with at least two witnesses.
It also sets out a clear hierarchy of those who can consent to body tissue and organs being donated and used - starting with the potential donor, followed by a person they nominate.
Where there is no indication of consent from the deceased, immediate family have the right to act, but the decision should be unanimous. The law also allows family members to object and override consent given by other family members.
Health Minister David Cunliffe said the new law made the process clearer and balanced the rights of donors with those of families.
"We want to encourage individuals who want to make a decision about the collection and use of their tissue after their death to consider the impact of their decision on their families. But we also want individuals to retain the right to make a decision that their family does not in the end agree with."
The law also gives clinicians the right to decide not to go ahead with taking tissue even if there is clear consent from the donor if there is a risk of prosecution. Doctors also have to consider the cultural and spiritual values and beliefs of family before acting on a consent.
The bill followed an extensive 2004 Ministry of Health review on human tissue issues and was introduced by then Health Minister Pete Hodgson in 2006.
However, organ donation law reform advocate Andy Tookey said it fell short of achieving its aim because it did not establish a national organ donor register upon which people could clearly indicate their consent.
While it purported to make the donor's own wishes paramount, he said the objections process made it easier for families to go against the wishes of donors and would deplete the pool of donors further.
"If any in the family object, [doctors] won't go ahead with it. Doctors aren't going to sit there and sort through who's who and who has got higher ranking and demand to see birth certificates to prove it. So it leaves us with the status quo."
The National Party also opposed the law change because of the failure to set up a organ donor register. National MP Jackie Blue's private member's bill to create a national register was considered alongside the bill. However, while the new law provides for a register at some point in the future, the health select committee said that in the short term the money would be better spent on raising public awareness of the need for donors.
The new law updates the 1964 Human Tissues Act and tidies up the wider law, which was previously governed by a mix of different statutes and common law. It also makes provision for the different uses of human tissues, such as for research purposes.
The donor consent on a driving licence is not considered legal consent, but is treated as an indication of a person's wishes.
Donor rates hit a record low in 2005, when just 25 people became organ donors - down from 40 in 2004 and 2003.
The Maori Party voted against the bill after an amendment which would give whanau the right to veto the individual consent by a donor was rejected.
