Lethal shortage of organs as families deny donor wishes
HUNDREDS of people are dying needlessly each year waiting for transplants because families are reluctant to talk about whether their relations actually wanted to donate their organs.
More than three families a week are saying no to organ donation even when their relations have signed the NHS Organ Donor Register, figures from the NHS show.
Although carrying a donor card demonstrates a legal decision to donate, in practice if a family strongly objects, it does not go ahead.
NHS Blood and Transplant says many families are often unsure and decide it is safer to say no, meaning around 460 life-saving organ transplants are missed each year.
Last year 457 people died while on the active transplant waiting list and a further 875 people were removed from the list, because they became too ill for an organ. Many of these people will have died shortly after being removed.
There are currently 6,414 people waiting for a transplant but the reluctance to talk about the issue is contributing to a deadly shortage of organs, experts are warning.
“It’s a tragedy,” said Anthony Clarkson, assistant director of organ donation for NHS Blood and Transplant.
“Hundreds of people are dying unnecessarily every year waiting for transplants. We know that if everyone who supported donation talked about it and agreed to donate, most of those lives would be saved.
“If you want to save lives, don’t leave it too late to talk to your family.”
Ahead of Organ Donation Week, the organisation and the Government are urging families to find out the wishes of relations before it is too late to ask.