Interactive map shows how many registered in UK to donate organs

More than half of adults in Tayside and Fife have registered to be organ donors, new research has revealed.

An interactive map of the country has revealed stark variations in the number of people who have consented to their organs being used after death.

Dundee and Angus each have almost two-thirds of their respective populations – 61% – registered, placing them as the joint fifth highest percentages on the UK register.

A little more than half, 52%, of people in Perth and Kinross are on the Organ Donor Register, a figure that drops to 47% in Fife.

However, there are six areas in Britain where fewer than one in five people have signed up, with Barking and Dagenham in East London seeing just 15.99%.

The other areas are Harlow in Essex, East London’s Newham, Leicester, East London’s Redbridge and Luton.

Jess Houghton, technical research consultant at Esri UK, who created the map, said: “Mapping complex data in this way makes it easier for the public to see how many people are on the organ donor register in their area and compare it with the rest of the country.”

According to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), there were 25,661,697 people on the Organ Donor Register across the UK as of August 31.

Anthony Clarkson, interim head of organ donation and transplantation at NHSBT, said: “We recognise that there is a disparity in the numbers of registered donors between urban and rural areas.

“We don’t fully understand why more people in rural areas have joined the register and we welcome the debate.

“This is one of the drivers for Organ Donation Week – to get people everywhere to talk about it and to register so we can save more lives.

“People need to tell their family they want to save lives through organ donation. Words saves lives.”