SOMETIMES the Government gets it very, very wrong.

It did on Monday night by forcing Labour MPs to vote against plans to change the organ donation system.

The current way relies on people getting donor cards so that, in the event of their death, their organs can be used to give someone else a chance to live.

But, as is stands, the system is woefully inadequate. Most people just never get round to getting a donor card, even though they might be in favour of seeing their organs help another person to live.

That means thousands of potentially life-saving heart or kidney transplants never take place.

The simple idea put forward to get these transplant operations taking place was to make organ donation practically compulsory - and if people don't want their body parts used by others they can opt out.

By this straight-forward reversal of the current process, those 5,500 people in need of a transplant are given more hope. I'm not even going to mention the cost benefits to the NHS.

Sadly, this hope was snatched away from them because the Labour whip decided MPs should not be able to vote with their consciences on this issue. As a result, the Government got its way. The painfully slow system will have to stay in place.

Clayton-le-moors mum Karen Coupe, whose daughter Sarah, 14, needs a kidney transplant, was understandably devastated by the result of the Commons vote.

Sarah has been on the waiting list for a new kidney for four years and has 10 hours of dialysis over six nights a week. But she is becoming increasingly ill while the wait for a donor goes on.

Repeated polls have shown something like 85 per cent of people would be happy to donate organs. They don't feel strongly against the practice.

Sadly they don't feel strongly enough in favour of it to actively go out and seek a donor card. And there are millions of folk like that - Burnley MP Peter Pike for instance.

After voting against his own party on this issue, he said: "I don't carry a donor card. I've just never got round to it and that is one of the arguments for a different system."

He's right. That's why the system needs changing. After all, those who are strongly against donating organs to help others, for whatever reason, are more likely to take action and opt out.

When giving the reasons for the Government's pathetic stance on the debate, Health Secretary John Reid said Labour believes the issue is one of "individual conscience" and nothing to do with the State.

Presumably the three-line party whip was imposed on Labour MPs to encourage them to vote with their hearts then, John, and not toe the party line? What a chump.

As far as I and people like Karen Coupe are concerned, MPs have pure and simply passed up the chance to bring in a sensible system.

To register for a donor card visit www.uktransplant.org.uk or call 0845 6060 400.