NHS Blood and Transplant to establish national organ donation organisation
| Published: 21st March 2008 18:26 |
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) today welcomed publication of the report of the Organ Donation Taskforce set up by the Government.
The report - "Organs for Transplants" - examines current barriers to organ donation within the existing legal framework in the UK, setting out 14 recommendations to overcome these and deliver significantly improved rates of organ donation and transplants.
Accepted in full by the Government, the report recommends the establishment by NHSBT of a national organ donation organisation with responsibility for UK-wide donation, including a network of donor transplant co-ordinators.
Lynda Hamlyn, Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "This report presents major opportunities for the improvement of organ donation and transplantation services in the United Kingdom.
Medical advances mean that remarkable procedures such as liver and heart transplants are now commonplace, allowing people to live normal lives through the gift of donation. More than 3000 lives were saved and transformed by organ donation last year.
But with the deaths of 1000 people waiting for a transplant over the same period, we can and must improve on this. Working together with our colleagues across the NHS, we believe that the actions recommended by the Organ Donation Taskforce will help us make organ donation the norm in this country, bringing us into line with our European neighbours."
"Organ transplantation is highly successful and is, increasingly, the only treatment for many illnesses", said Chris Rudge, Managing and Transplant Director for UK Transplant (the arm of NHS Blood and Transplant responsible for matching and allocating donated organs).
"The biggest threat to transplantation today is the shortage of donors. Taken together, the solutions proposed in today's report from the Organ Donor Taskforce can change this.
These include increased promotion of organ donation to the public in general and sections of the community, such as the Black and Minority Ethnic population, in particular. I would urge people to consider donation and if they wish to make this gift to those who would otherwise die to make their views known to those closest to them."
There are currently almost 15 million people on the Organ Donor Register. If you would like to add your name, please ring 0845 60 60 400 or go to http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/
For further enquiries, please ring 0117 975 7518
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