NKF Campaigns Zone:
Government & Parliament

Answers to Parliamentary Questions

Written Answer - 9 October 2007

ORGAN AVAILABILITY

Mr Laxton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to improve the rate at which human organs become available for transplant. [154358]

ANN KEEN

The Department launched “Saving Lives, Valuing Donors: A Transplant Framework for England” in 2003 and the National Service Framework for Renal Services in 2004. These set out the Department’s key aims for organ and tissue transplantation over the following 10 years. Government investment in hospital based funding has helped increase donor rates and an organ donor taskforce will report to Ministers in autumn 2007 on how organ donor rates can be further improved.

Following the publication of the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report in July, the taskforce will also examine the potential impact on organ donation of introducing an opt out or presumed consent scheme.