THIS week marks a year since the introduction of the new system for organ donation in Wales.

For the last 12 months, people aged 18 and over who die in Wales having lived here for more than 12 months are now regarded as having consented to organ donation unless they have opted out.

People who want to be organ donors can register a decision to opt in or do nothing, which will mean they have no objection to being an organ donor. Those people who do not want to be organ donors can opt out at any time.

A year on and the system is showing its value as the latest figures show that 39 organs from patients whose consent was deemed have been transplanted into people who are in need of replacement organs.

In the two years prior to the introduction of the new system of deemed consent, the Welsh Government made significant efforts to inform the public of the exact nature of the upcoming changes in respect of transplantation activities. During this period the number of organs transplanted increased each year, from 120 between the 1 December 2013 and 31 October 2014, to 160 between 1 December 2015 and 2016.

This new system has given the gift of life to so many people, it’s given hope to families and it’s brought comfort to some in the very darkest of moments.

Our Welsh Labour Government has proved itself to be pioneering in this field as the first country in the UK to adopt these measures and I for one look forward to the benefits for many years to come.

Next week I will be at Winterfest in Abertillery on Tuesday, December 8. Please feel to pop along for a chat.

Alternatively my next surgery is on Friday, December 9, at Llanhilleth Miners’ Institute from 3pm-4pm.

For more details are to arrange another time to see me, call my Brynmawr office on (01495) 311160.