LIVING TRANSPLANTS REACH ALL TIME HIGH
More than one in four of all kidney transplants in the UK now rely on the generosity of a living donor.
A total of 1,783 patients received a kidney transplant last year (2004-05) of which 475 (27%) were given their kidney by a friend or relative – the highest number of living kidney transplants ever recorded in the UK.
The figures also include a record number of kidney transplants from non-heartbeating* donors – 143, 20% up on the previous year. These are patients who died in hospital but were not on a ventilator.
The end-of-year figures are released by NHS UK Transplant, the special health authority responsible for matching and allocating donated organs for transplant.
More patients need a new kidney than any other organ. There are currently (12 May 2005) 6,152 people registered for an organ transplant – of which 5,348 - are waiting for a kidney.
Sue Sutherland, Chief Executive of NHS UK Transplant, said the figures justified UKT’s strategy of investing almost £10m over the past four years into hospital-based donation programmes designed to increase opportunities for donation.
“These results show the importance of investing in these new programmes and the real value of extending such programmes, which are currently operating in just 48 trusts, across all suitable NHS trusts.
“The living donor programmes alone have generated a 40% increase in living kidney transplants when compared with 2000-2001.”
In addition during 2004-05:
- 2,375 people had their sight restored by a cornea transplant – the highest number for eight years
- a million more people pledged to help others after their death by registering their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register
- 86 people received a pancreas or combined kidney/pancreas transplant – the highest number on record.
The number of people who donated organs after their death dropped by 22 to 750 last year, reducing the overall number of organ transplants by 5%.
Mrs Sutherland added: “Transplant success rates are constantly improving with 85% of heart transplants; 87% of liver transplants; 93% of living kidney grafts and 88% of transplants using kidneys donated after death surviving the critical first year.
“Despite these successes there is still a chronic shortage of donated organs in the UK. While death rates are falling due to improvements in both road safety and medical treatment, 42% of relatives still say “no” to organ donation, mainly because they don’t know what their loved one would have wanted and have never talked about organ donation.
“So many more lives could he saved or enhanced if more people discussed their wishes about organ donation with their families and friends and registered their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”
You can join the NHS Organ Donor Register by telephoning the organ donor line on 0845 60 60 400 or by visiting www.uktransplant.org.uk
For further information contact the UK Transplant press office on 0117 975 7477
* Explanation of “non-heartbeating” and “heartbeating”
Non-heartbeating donors are patients who die in hospital but not on a ventilator. These donors can give their kidneys because unlike hearts, lungs and other organs, the kidneys can tolerate longer periods without oxygen.
Patients who die on a ventilator are known as heartbeating donors. The ventilator supports the organs by providing oxygen to keep the heart beating artificially after death.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Since 2001 UK Transplant has invested over £9.95m in NHS hospital-based programmes to increase opportunities for donation by providing:
- 33 donor liaison programmes
- 25 living donor programmes
- 13 non-heartbeating donor programmes
- 11 additional transplant co-ordinators.
- 8 eye retrieval centres have also been funded to help secure a consistent number of corneas for transplant from 2005 onwards
- There are currently 12.2 million people on the NHS Organ Donor Register – 20% of the UK population/li>
- As part of the Department of Health’s Arm’s Length Body Review, a new authority – NHS Blood and Transplant – is to be established on 1 October 2005 combining UK Transplant and the National Blood Authority.
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