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Organ donation is defined as the process of removing organs from one body and transplanting them into another. In some cases, the subject donating organs is recently deceased, and has given permission for their organs to be donated to someone else in need. Dr. Joseph Murray and Dr. David Hume led the first successful kidney transplant on December 23, 1954 at the Brigham Hospital in Boston between two living-patients. Later, in 1962, Dr. Murray and Dr. Hume accomplished yet another successful kidney transplant; however between a deceased body, and a living patient. Today, organ donation has been accepted around the world as a medical practice for patients experiencing organ failure. According to the US Department of Health and Human services, on average, 79 people receive an organ transplant everyday; on the other hand, 22 lives are taken everyday to patients on waiting lists due to shortage of organs. Globally, Spain has the largest population of opt-out registered donors, with Sweden as the next largest.

Consent is defined as adhering to an agreement of principals. However, this definition is hard to enforce in accordance with organ donation because, in most cases, organs are donated from the deceased, and can no longer provide consent for themselves. Countries have incorporated legal forms and policies in order to help regulate this issue with consent. For example, Scotland conforms to the Human Tissue Authority Code of Practice, which grants authority to donate organs, instead of consent of the individual. There are several different systems countries use in order to determine consensual issues concerning organ donation.

Opt-out consent, otherwise known as "deemed" consent, refers to the notion that the majority of people support organ donation, but only a small percentage of the population are registered. For this reasons, countries, such as Wales, have adopted a "soft opt-out" consent, meaning if a citizen has not clearly made a decision to register, than they will be treated as a registered citizen and participate in the organ donation process. Likewise, opt-in consent refers to the consent process of only those who are registered to participate in organ donation. Currently, the United States has an opt-in system, but studies show that countries with an opt-out system save more lives due to more availability of donated organs. Registering to become an organ donor heavily depends on the attitude of the individual; those with a positive outlook might feel a sense of altruism towards organ donation, while others may have a more negative perspective, such as not trusting doctors to work as hard to save the lives of registered organ donors. The UK has several different laws and policies for the organ donation process, such as consent of a witness or guardian must be provided to participate in organ donation.

Europe

Scotland conforms to the Human Tissue Authority Code of Practice, which grants authority to donate organs, instead of consent of the individual. This helps to avoid conflict of implications and contains several requirements. In order to participate in organ donation, one must be listed on the Organ Donor Registry (ODR). If the subject is incapable of providing consent, and is not on the ODR, then an acting representative, such as a legal guardian or family member can give legal consent for organ donation of the subject, along with a presiding witness , according to the Human Tissue Authority Code of Practice. Consent of refusal from a spouse, family member, or relative is necessary for a subject is incapable.

The Mental Capacity Act is another legal policy in place for organ donation in the UK. The act is used by medical professionals to declare a patients mental capacity. The act claims that medical professionals are to "act in a patient's best interest," when the patient is unable to do so.