Bishop Paul Mason, the lead bishop on healthcare and mental health, said: "These guidelines hope to provide you with some information to help you make a well-informed decision about donating your organs after death. It is important to discuss this with your family and loved ones so that they are aware of your decision and can honor it."
"In turn, it is hoped that this may help to start a conversation so that you too are able to make an informed choice about loved ones when the time comes."
He noted that the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), the public body regulating the removal, storage and use of organs, had updated its code of practice. He said the HTA had strengthened the sections relating to faith and brought "further clarity" to the potential case of a family objecting to the donation of a relative's organs where consent has been presumed.
Bishop Mason recently wrote to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which oversees the supply of blood, organs and tissues within the NHS, concerning organ donation and the coronavirus pandemic.
In reply, NHSBT said: 'We continue to offer families the opportunity to seek advice about organ donation from a faith leader, in this case a priest. Our specialist nurses would facilitate those discussions and depending on the situation in the hospital, this would be supported, either face to face or by phone. It will come down to local hospital policies whether or not such practices can continue due to COVID-19."
It added that those who tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to the virus would not be considered as organ donors.