Agony for 4,960 after alert over donors

DIALYSIS ORDEAL Michelle in 1996, aged 15 ALMOST 5,000 patients are waiting for a new kidney after live donations of the organ hit an eight-year low.

A total of 990 donors gave a kidney in 2017 but it was the lowest figure since 2009.

The “worrying” drop leaves 4,960 patients on dialysis waiting to hear if a life-saving match has been found.

Fiona Loud, of Kidney Care UK, said: “Every single day at least one person will die waiting for a kidney transplant. Meanwhile thousands wait for that lifechanging call and continue to face hours of gruelling dialysis every week. Patients regularly tell us dialysis keeps them alive – but is no way to live.”

Lisa Burnapp, of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Living donation has been a major success story, with one in three patients receiving a kidney transplant from a living donor, so this decline is worrying.”

Kidney patients form the majority of those on the organ donor register – around 6,500 in total.