British Prime Minister Gordan Brown is calling for a debate on organ donation and says he is in favour of a policy known as "presumed consent" ; this would allow for organs to be transplanted without consent.
Gordan Brown says such a policy would allow doctors to transplant organs from people who have died into living patients regardless of whether consent has been given.
Prime Minister Brown says he believes thousands of lives would be saved if everyone was automatically placed on the donor register.
He says the system has the potential to close the huge gap between the potential benefits of transplant surgery in the UK and the limits imposed by the current system of consent.
According to Mr. Brown over 1000 people die each year in the UK while waiting for organ transplants and this number would be greatly reduced if such a plan was initiated.
Under current British law organs can only be removed from a person when they die if they have given consent before hand, or if a family member consents.
The Organ Donation Taskforce, set up by the government in 2006, is due to publish its report this week and is expected to make recommendations, which will boost the level of organ donations.
Currently there are more than 8,000 people waiting for organ transplants in the UK - a figure which rises by about 8% a year.
Mr Brown, who himself carries an organ donor card hopes the proposals will be introduced this year.
The Organ Donation Taskforce, set up by the government in 2006, is due to publish its report this week and it is expected to make recommendations, which will boost the level of organ donations.