BRITS will be asked to become organ donors when they apply for passports under plans to boost the register.
The opt-out system assumes everyone is willing to donate but families can block the surgery if someone does not confirm their wishes before they die.
Around 45 per cent of the UK population are confirmed organ donorsNHS Blood & Transplant
More than 7,000 people are on transplant waiting lists but less than half the population – around 45 per cent – are confirmed donors.
Just one per cent of people’s organs are fit to transplant after they die because they cannot be used if diseased or damaged.
Kidney transplants are most common but hundreds of people die waiting each year because of a shortage of donors.
Sign-ups can also save patients who need a new heart, lung, liver, pancreas, small intestine or other tissues like cornea, skin or bone.
Health minister Neil O’Brien said: “Every organ donor can save and improve up to nine lives, which is why we’re working hard to grow the NHS Organ Donor Register.
“We hope to inspire more people to sign up – the more people we can get to join the register, the more lives we can save.”
A link will be added to online passport renewal applications next year.
Millions have already signed up through links with DVLA driving licence applications and the NHS mobile app.
Dr Jo Farrar, chief of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “People are keen for us to make registering their organ donation decision as easy as possible.
“We hope that doing this for passport applications will give more people the chance to save more lives.”
This week is the NHS’s Organ Donation Week.