More donors but fewer transplant organs

Published on Monday 3 October 2011 23:13

THE number of organs donated for transplant varies in different regions of the UK, according to a new study.

Although the numbers of people on the donor register is increasing in Scotland, the annual number of organs harvested north of the border has fallen over the study period.

The researchers looked at organs transplanted after death, using data from NHS Blood and Transplant for all four UK countries for the period 1990 to 2009.

They found that across the UK the number of heart transplants was falling while the number of lung transplants had risen. The number of corneal transplants was lowest in Northern Ireland.

Scotland had the second highest number of people registered as organ donors after Wales. England had the third highest and Northern Ireland the lowest. The number of people registered as organ donors in Scotland rose from less than 1 per cent in 1994 to 34 per cent in 2009.

However, during the period studied, the number of organs donated in Scotland per million population actually fell, from 17 in 1990 to 13 in 2009.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, researchers from the University of Ulster said: “While registration and donation are both highest in Wales, among other parts of the UK registration and donation do not follow similar trends.

“Organ donation rates over the last two decades vary in the four UK regions, and this variation depends on the type of organ donated.

“Further exploration of underlying factors, organisational issues, practices and attitudes to organ donation in the four regions of the UK, taking into account findings from EU countries with varying approaches to presumed consent, needs to be undertaken before such legislation is introduced across the UK.”

According to the most recent figures from the Scottish Government, 37 per cent of the population has now signed up to the donor register, the highest level in the UK.

There are estimated to be about 600 patients currently waiting for organs.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Since 2008-9, the Scottish Government has substantially increased investment in organ donation advertising campaigns, which has helped encourage people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.

“The Scottish Government is fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the UK Organ Donation Taskforce and we would clearly welcome any research which may further inform and improve transplant rates.”

A spokesman for the British Medical Association said: “Many patients still die waiting on an organ transplant. We know there is public support for a change in the organ donation system and the BMA believes that a ‘soft’ opt-out system would better reflect the views of the majority.

“Unless an individual had registered an objection to donating their organs, or if the family were aware of any objection, the default position would be to donate. Creating this kind of system will allow the wishes of the individual to be taken into account and will increase the number of organs available for transplant”

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