UK: Record number of lives saved as UK organ donor numbers rise

[Clark]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/04/record-numbers-lives-saved-organ-donor-numbers

Record number of lives saved as UK organ donor numbers rise
Almost 3,500 patients received new bodyparts recovered from 1,323 deceased people last year, latest figures show
Denis Campbell

Among the 3,489 recipients 1,955 received a kidney, 846 a liver and 205 one lung or a set of lungs. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
Record numbers of critically ill patients had their lives saved or extended last year after the largest ever number of people donated their organs after death, new NHS figures reveal.

In total 3,489 patients across the UK received a range of body parts ranging from a kidney, liver or a heart to both a heart and lung in 2013. They were able to do so because organs were recovered from 1,323 deceased people, a rise of 13.7% on the 1,164 in 2012.

The number of people donating has risen year-on-year, with only one exception, over the last decade from 709 in 2003 to almost double that last year, NHS blood and transplant (NHSBT) figures show.

The figures reflect changing public attitudes towards organ donation and NHS measures to improve donation rates, including creating clinical leads and specialist nurses in hospitals and setting up dedicated organ retrieval teams.

Among the 3,489 recipients, 1,955 received a kidney, 846 a liver and 205 one lung or a set of lungs, 188 got a replacement heart while six received both a heart and lung.

Sally Johnson, director of transplantation at NHSBT, welcomed both records but warned that three people a day are dying while on the organ transplant waiting list because of an organ shortage. Just over 7,000 people are on it, 5,689 of whom need a new kidney.

"Last year we set our aspiration to match the best countries in the world for organ donation and transplantation, and if we are going to achieve this, we will need to see a revolution in attitudes in society towards donation," she said.

Last year 58.6% of families who were asked about the possibility of donating their relative's organs agreed, up from 56.5% in 2012. The NHS wants to reach 80% consent from families by 2020.

There were also 1,127 "living donor" transplants last year in which a living person donated a kidney or, in 30 cases, part of their liver to help someone else, usually a relative or friend, but sometimes a stranger. That means that a total of 4,616 people received a new organ last year.