Record Year For Transplants - But Need For Donors Greater Than Ever, UK

Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 08 May 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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A record number of patients received a life-saving organ transplant last year, but rising demand means that the need for donors is greater than ever.

New figures from UK Transplant (UKT), the NHS organisation that matches and allocates donated organs, show that 3,074 patients received a transplant in 2006/07, 10% up on the previous year and the highest number ever recorded.

But an increase in the number of people being referred for transplants meant that waiting lists ended the year at an all-time high. A total of 7,234 patients were actively registered for a transplant on 31 March, 8% higher than the same point 12 months earlier.

Chris Rudge, UKT managing and transplant director, said: "The growth in transplant numbers is very welcome and a credit to the kindness of the organ donors, and their families, who make these life-saving operations possible.

"UK Transplant has invested in several hospital-based programmes in recent years to increase opportunities for donation, and these figures demonstrate that our strategy is helping more patients benefit from a transplant.

"This record number of transplants is a tribute to the dedication and immense efforts of staff in transplant units, while medical and nursing teams across the whole NHS also play a vital role throughout the overall transplantation process.

"But the figures also show that more organ donors are desperately needed. The number of patients awaiting a transplant is greater than ever before and it is vital that if people wish to help others live after their death, they make their intentions known by talking to their families and joining the NHS Organ Donor Register."

Health minister Rosie Winterton said: "Organ transplantation is one of the big success stories of modern medicine and I am delighted to see this increase in the number of operations performed.

"However many more could have benefited if all those who wanted to donate had made their wishes known. I hope that these figures will inspire more would-be donors to discuss their wishes with their families and join the NHS Organ Donor Register."

Transplants of virtually all organ types were up on the previous year, although the 2,400 cornea transplants were 100 fewer than in 2005/06. In addition, 2006/07 saw a further 1.1 million people join the NHS Organ Donor Register, taking the total by the end of the year to over 14.2 million.

Since 2001/02 there has been:

-- A 16% increase in overall transplant numbers;
-- A 26% increase in kidney transplants;
-- A 280% increase in 'non-heartbeating' donors;
-- A 77% increase in living donors.

However, the same period has also seen:

-- A 30% increase in the number of patients actively listed for a transplant at year-end;
-- A 10% fall in the number of deceased 'heartbeating' donors, historically the main source of donated organs.

The decline in the number of 'heartbeating' donors - those who die on a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit - is due to welcome improvements in road safety, medical advances in the treatment of patients and the prevention of strokes in younger people.

To address this, in the last six years UK Transplant has invested £14million in hospital-based programmes to increase opportunities for donation and widen access to transplants for patients who need them. The programmes include 25 living kidney donor schemes, which enable a patient to receive an organ from a living friend or relative. UKT also funds 13 'non-heartbeating' donor programmes at UK hospitals.

But these 'alternative' forms of donation are suitable only for certain types of transplant and they account for only a proportion of total transplant numbers.

The need for organ transplants is rising due to an ageing population, an increase in kidney failure and scientific advances that allow more people to benefit from a transplant.

www.uktransplant.org.uk

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