Hundreds waiting on organ donation for more than seven years

More than 250 people in Britain have been waiting for a kidney transplant for more than seven years, new figures reveal.

Data from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) show that 266 people in the UK have been waiting more than seven years for a kidney transplant – the average wait is between one and three years.

It is hoped that more people will be able to receive life-changing transplants sooner thanks to a change in the way that some organs are allocated.

The system for the way kidney donations were allocated changed last year so that those who are hard to match or have been waiting a long time will be given a certain level of priority.

NHSBT said the kidney offering scheme – which allocates kidneys from deceased donors to patients on the waiting list – was changed in September last year to help close the gap on the length of time people wait for a transplant.

It said that since the scheme began, 45% of all kidney transplants performed were for “difficult to match” patients, compared with 37% in the same period the year before.

Patients with previous transplants, those who have had multiple blood transfusions, or those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds can be harder to match.

The transplant authority said that 40% of deceased donor transplants performed between September 2019 and February 2020 were in black, Asian and minority ethnic patients compared with 33% in the same period the previous year, according to figures released to mark World Kidney Day.

On May 20, the law in England will change to an “opt-out” organ donation system which means all adults will be considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they record a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “The subtle changes to the way that kidneys are offered means it’s now even fairer to those waiting for a transplant.”