New figures reveal that there were 40 patients who donated their organs after death at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust last year, helping save or improve the lives of 4,532 people desperately in need of a transplant across the UK.
NHS Blood and Transplant and CUH have released the figures to mark the publication of the annual Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report, showing that Addenbrooke’s ranks third out of the top 20 donor hospitals in the UK last year. It is also known internationally for its transplant programme.
The annual report shows deceased organ donation in the UK increased by two per cent last year thanks to the continuing recovery of organ donation and transplant activity following the Covid-19 pandemic. 1,429 people in total donated their organs after death last year.
Despite this, the number of people being listed for a transplant has increased, due to most being suspended during the height of the pandemic and, subsequently, others needing a transplant being added to the list. There are more than 7,000 people on the active waiting list and a further 3,822 temporarily suspended.
CUH consultant in paediatric intensive care and clinical lead for organ donation, Dr Riaz Kayani, has presided over organ donation activity at the Trust since 2016.
He said:
We are proud to have been able to help so many patients this year, but the real heroes are the donors and their families for allowing these procedures to happen.
Our message is please register your organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. If your family know what you want to happen when you die, they are much more likely to honour that decision and make organ donation a possibility.
Dr Riaz Kayani
Specialist nurse for organ donation, Jo Barratt, added:
We are so proud of our donors and donor families, as well as all the staff who help facilitate every single donor. We would like to celebrate the lifesaving gifts they have given. We also fully understand how important it is for families to make a decision in a way that honours their faith, beliefs and values.”
Organ donation can offer comfort to the families of donors through the knowledge that something remarkable and truly incredible comes from their loss - the transformation of another’s life.
Jo Barratt
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, at NHS Blood and Transplant, added:
Over 50,000 people are alive in the UK today thanks to the life-saving gift of organ donation.
We urge everyone who supports organ donation to confirm their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. It is a simple action which only takes two minutes; but can ultimately save lives.
Anthony Clarkson
Find out more and register your decision by visiting NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk (opens in a new tab) and share your decision with your family.