Shaben Begum from Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance replies that she supports this bill, but it needs to be strengthened for those who have communication issues.

Dr Gordon Macdonald from CARE for Scotland does not believe the bill is required.

What is needed it improvements in the administrative system around organ donation, he argues.

Dr Macdonald suggests it would be better to put money to specialist organ donation nurses.

Fiona Loud from Kidney Care UK welcomes the opportunity to increase the number of transplants.

"We know that there is more that can be done," she says, and expresses support for the opt-out system as long as the public is educated about it.

It has the opportunity to transform lives, Ms Loud says.

Image source, bbc

The committee is now hearing from:

• Shaben Begum from Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance, external
• Fiona Loud of Kidney Care UK, external
• Dr Gordon Macdonald from CARE for Scotland, external

SNP MSP Sandra White raises the issue of pre-death procedures which she says has caused great concern, for example when someone is brain dead.

She says this area may be addressed in regulations and there are concerns from families about how this is dealt with.

Gillian Hollis explains a doctor gave a talk on when someone is actually dead and the different definitions of death.

Ms Hollis explains the pre-death procedures can be quite hard to understand for people and procedures to make organ donation better must be explained.

There was distaste about pre-death procedures which sounds "quite nasty", she says.

"You've got to be clear with the relatives about what is going to happen there."

SNP MSP David Torrance wonders about ensuring children's wishes are taken into account.

Lung recipient Gillian Hollis points to work in schools which help young people consider consent and have discussions with their families.

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton refers to the specialist nurses who revealed there are hundreds of questions asked of families, which is a demonstrable deterrent as they would often bail because they needed to collect themselves.

Mr Cole-Hamilton asks if the Human Tissue (Authorisation) (Scotland) Bill, external will reduce bureaucratic pressure or will build more.

Ms Hollis agrees that the length of time and the number of questions families face is one of the big factors in people not allowing donations to take place.

Image source, bbc

The lung transplant recipient cites the case of someone she knows who was horrified at the number of questions she had to go through and stopped the process.

Ms Hollis says from the patient recipient point of view things are far more bureaucratic now, explaining she just signed a one page document when she received her lungs, but now it is very difficult.

If the bureaucracy could be reduced she would welcome that.

Image source, NHSBT

More than half of Scotland's population have registered to donate their organs or tissue after their death - the highest rate in Britain.

Figures show that more than 2,724,000 Scottish residents are registered on the UK Organ Donor Register.

Approximately 550 people in Scotland are waiting for an organ transplant, which could save or transform their lives.

The rise in donors comes after high-profile annual awareness campaigns.

Read more.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle suggests that saying healthcare professionals will never go against a family's decision is a "dangerous statement".

He argues healthcare professionals should not be able to make that decision.

Mr McColgan says the point about healthcare professionals is purely anecdotal but agrees the less complicated this is made, the better.

There are only a few cases where a loved one has opted in to donation but a family has prevented it, he tells the committee, adding it might be worth looking into how these conversations went ahead.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Keith Brown asks what rights families have to override someone's decision to donate.

Is there a danger that family overrides are more likely to happen in a deemed consent than an explicit consent, he asks.

Gillian Hollis says the 2006 legislation that allowed doctors to override families on the issue of consent led to very different views.

Ms Hollis argues it is a very personal and admits she is sitting on the fence on this difficult issue.

Mr McColgan says Wales' donation rate has not massively increased but nurses have said the conversation with families has gotten much easier.

He suggests the donation rate is partly to do with people not being suitable donors.

SNP MSP Emma Harper - a former member of a liver transplant team in Los Angeles - asks how communication should be delivered.

The BHF Scotland representative points to the 18-month communication programme in Wales, which he says was "highly effective".

Ms Hollis says: "It's going to be challenging, but it's very important that the message is clear."

The message must be gotten across as simply as possible, she adds, especially if the default position is the organs will be donated anyway.

David McColgan from BHF Scotland tells the committee that many people are proud of carrying a donor card and want to opt-in.

The Scottish bill includes the compulsion for ministers to communicate the changes, he adds.

Labour MSP David Stewart asks about idea of donation as a gift.

Gillian Hollis says: "I owe my life to my donor and their family."

The same person who donated lungs to her also donated their heart to another patient, she says.

"It is people helping other people. That is a true gift."

David McColgan says an opt-out system does not remove the fact that it is a gift, because people can register their wishes against donation much more strongly.

Harpreet Brrang adds the idea of it being a gift must be retained because recipients may not feel as comfortable if donation is not thought of as consensual.

Harpreet Brrang of the Children's Liver Disease Foundation warns there might be a backlash for not making it clear what the family's role is in the legislation.

Gillian Hollis says none of the doctors will go ahead in face of vehement reluctance from the family.

Image source, bbc

The lung transplant recipient is asked by Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton why she is now less supportive of the opt-out system.

Ms Hollis says the legislation is a "feel good bill", but when she heard the views of people who had concerns about the state having control over their body it changed her view.

"I'm less enthusiastic about the move to opt-out than I was, say, 10 years ago."

She stresses she wants to see more organ donations, but warns there's a potential for a bit of a back lash.

Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

Doctors' union the British Medical Association (BMA) and politicians alike have called for an opt-out system to be adopted, where people's consent to donate their organs after their death is presumed unless they have explicitly said otherwise.

This system is currently in force in Wales and in a number of other countries throughout Europe.

In a recent Parliamentary debate on organ donation, Labour MP Dan Jarvis said: "England must now move to an opt-out system. The evidence is clear - hundreds of people a year are paying a price of us not doing so."

But there is a lack of evidence to support this claim.

Read more here.

Gillian Hollis, a lung transplant recipient, says she is supportive of any means to increase the number of organ transplants.

I've benefited from 15 fantastic years since having a lung transplant, she tells the committee.

Much has been done to increase the number of transplants which take place and we must celebrate that, she says.

Ms Hollis explains that immediately after her transplant, she was in favour of opt-out, but her view has changed a little since then.

"I'm not convinced that moving to an opt-out system is the right means of doing it. It's far more nuanced."

Image source, bbc

Harpreet Brrang of the Children's Liver Disease Foundation completely agrees with Mr McColgan's points.

This legislation is trying to encourage people to make a choice, Ms Brrang adds.

She says a lot of the families of children with a liver condition say that until their child needed a transplant it did not come to their minds to sign up to the organ donor register.

Legislation has been tabled at Holyrood to shift Scotland to an "opt-out" system for organ donation.

At present, people must opt in to the system in order to donate their organs for transplants after they die.

Under the proposals published at the Scottish Parliament, it will be assumed people were in favour of donation unless they have stated otherwise.

Medics will still check with families to confirm the deceased person's views, and ensure they understand the process.

Read more.

Committee convener Lewis Macdonald asks whether there is a need for legislative change and whether the bill will result in a marked difference.

David McColgan from BHF Scotland confirms his charity's support for the legislation, pointing to the gap between people willing to donate after death and those that actually end up donating.

Only 51% of people get around to registering their wishes despite more than 80% being willing to donate he says.

Family consent rates in Scotland are the lowest in the UK, he adds, but evidence shows an opt-out system increases these.