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Families continue to save and improve lives through organ donation at OUH

14/07/2022
This article is more than one year old.

New figures reveal that 26 patients donated their organs after death at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) last year, helping save or improve the lives of 63 people in need of a transplant in the UK.

NHS Blood and Transplant and OUH released the figures to mark the publication of the annual Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report.

The annual report shows deceased organ donation in the UK increased by 18 per cent last year thanks to the continuing recovery of organ donation and transplant activity following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 1,397 people donated their organs after death last year, including the 26 at OUH.

Despite this, the number of people being listed for a transplant has increased due to some suspensions during the height of the pandemic and, subsequently, others needing a transplant being added to the list. There are currently 6,393 people on the active waiting list.

Dr Andrew Brent, Chair of the Organ Donation Committee and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at OUH said: "We are immensely grateful to all the OUH patients and their families who have donated their organs to help save and improve the lives of other patients, and to our organ donation and transplant teams that make this possible.

"There remains a huge need for organ donors to help other patients, so it is important for all of us to register and let our families know our organ donation wishes. Ensuring our families know what we would want to happen when we die makes it much easier if there comes a time when organ donation is a possibility."

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 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 three per cent 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 information on the NHS Blood and Transplant website.