Families continue to save and improve lives through organ donation
New figures reveal that five patients donated their organs after death at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust last year, helping save or improve the lives of eight people desperately in need of a transplant in the UK.
NHS Blood and Transplant and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust have released the figures to mark the publication of the annual Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report. In Buckinghamshire there are 367,205 people (66%) on the organ donation register out of a population of 551,560 (Jan 2022) and nationally around 44% of the UK population has recorded their donation decision.
The annual report shows deceased organ donation in the UK increased by 18% last year with a total 1,397 people donated their organs after death. This is thanks to the continuing recovery of organ donation and transplant activity following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite this, the number of people being listed for a transplant has increased and there are currently 6,393 people on the active waiting list.
Dr Dipti Amin, Chair of the Organ and Tissue Donation Committee and Non-Executive Director from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust said: “I want to recognise and thank the donors and their families whose generosity has enabled eight lives to be saved or improved in the last year. I’d also like to thank our teams involved for their dedication in supporting the donation process.”
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Organ donation and transplantation is a fundamental part of the NHS work to save lives. This is shown by the increase in the number of patients this year receiving transplants and the number of those who are continually registering their decision to be an organ donor.
“The fact that 1,397 people saved and improved the lives of others last year through deceased organ donation is wonderful, especially given the fact that the number of families agreeing to donation when they were approached last year than fell by 3% on the year before. We still need families to support their loved one’s decision and agree to donation when approached if they know that’s what they wanted.
“We need to work to improve consent/authorisation rates by encouraging people to register their decision and discuss it with their families as organ donation really does save lives.”
Find out more and register your decision by visiting NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk and share your decision with your family.