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[The following Press Release was issued by UK TRANSPLANT on 24 September 2002]

NEW FOUNDATIONS FOR ORGAN DONATION

Nearly £4 million is being invested in the NHS to boost the number of life-saving organ transplants.

UK Transplant is funding 35 donor liaison schemes, 25 living donation programmes, a further 11 transplant co-ordinators and six non-heartbeating programmes.

Writing in the annual report, Chief Executive of Bristol-based UK Transplant, Sue Sutherland, said: “Our efforts during 2001-2002 have been concentrated on building firm foundations for a revitalised transplant service that will reverse the decline in the number of donors and deliver lasting solutions to the acute shortage of donated organs for transplant.”

Organ transplantation dramatically improved and saved the lives of more than 2,700 people last year but at any one time more than 5,500 people are waiting for a transplant.

Organ donation in the UK and other countries has been steadily declining over the past decade, affected by improvements in road and car safety and medical advances that mean the number of donors being identified has reduced.

Transplantation has, however, now become so successful that many more patients can be considered for treatment in this way.

The extra cash was pledged by Health Secretary Alan Milburn in an unprecedented effort to improve transplant services following meeting with the country’s leading transplant experts in February 2001.

Sue Sutherland adds: “This injection of funding is very significant for the UK’s organ donation system and UK Transplant has been responsible for converting that money into a range of hospital-based organ donation initiatives across the country.

“In addition, we have implemented new leadership and a national structure for donor co-ordinators who play a crucial role in maintaining and increasing the number of donors.

“We have also initiated a pilot audit in 130 intensive care units to identify the number of potential donors and the reasons preventing them from becoming actual donors.

“The organ donation system in this country is going through major change and we know from the experience of other countries that a sustained upturn will take some time to come about.”

A major report by the Department of Health - Organ and Tissue Donation — A Plan for the Future - is expected to be published later this year that will set clear targets and identify action required across the NHS to improve organ donation.

For further information contact UK Transplant Communications Unit on 0117 975 7476

Notes to editors:

The Annual Report 2001-2002 can be viewed in pdf format on UK Transplant’s website - www.uktransplant.org.uk under About Us/Annual Report.

The donor liaison scheme is aimed at ensuring that staff in intensive care units are aware of the procedures for identifying possible donors and the steps to take so that relatives are approached and given the opportunity to decide about donation. Twenty-one donor liaison nurses are already in post and a further 14 will be appointed this year.

Living donation programmes are aimed at increasing the opportunity for families to consider the living donation of a kidney. The number of living kidney transplants in the UK has doubled since 1997 and it is hoped the centres funded for this purpose will achieve living transplants for 15% of their waiting list.

An additional 11 full and part-time donor transplant co-ordinators have been appointed to 10 centres across the UK, achieving the equivalent of one donor co-ordinator per million population and ensuring more people are offered the opportunity to donate.

Six hospital trusts have been funded to manage non-heartbeating programmes. Transplantation originated via non-heartbeating donation and is still very much needed as the heartbeating source has never been sufficient on its own to meet the need for transplants.

UK Transplant’s heightened remit for increasing public awareness has seen the relaunch of its website and a nationwide campaign to encourage potential donors to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register via the council electoral registration

A major report by the Department of Health - Organ and Tissue Donation — A Plan for the Future - is expected to be published later this year that will set clear targets and identify action required across the NHS to improve organ donation.

For further information contact UK Transplant Communications Unit on 0117 975 7476