Organ transplants on the up, but UK still playing catch up to other countries
Official statistics show the number of organ transplants have increased by 10% over 2013/14, making it the eighth successive year that figures have risen.
The NHS Blood and Transplant data revealed that 4,655 transplants were carried out, but despite this, three people per day were still dying due to a shortage of donors. The NHS aims to boost the donor rate by more than 50% by 2020, striving to the bring the UK in line with some of the best performing countries such as Spain.
Currently, there are just over 20 million people signed up to the donor register, however hospitals have been struggling to receive the organs as four in 10 families block organ donation after their loved one has passed away. Specialist organ donation nurses are being employed to tackle this, to support bereaved relatives.
Organ donation
Sally Johnson, of NHS Blood and Transplant, told BBC News “Family refusal is our biggest problem and it’s sad we lag behind some other countries in terms of consent. We understand that families often have to consider donation in their darkest hour. So rather than wait for that moment, please ask yourself now whether you think it is right to accept people dying in need of a transplant in the UK? If we would accept an organ for ourselves or would want someone we love to be saved by a transplant shouldn’t we be willing to donate too?”
However, not all donations come from dead patients, with just over 1,000 of the transplants last year carried out because of donations from living people.
