Number of people opting to donate organs after death at all-time high

number of people who donated organs after they died has reached a record high, officials have said.

A total of 1,575 people donated organs after they died in 2017-18, the highest figure on record, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

“I am so grateful to all those families who have chosen to help others at a time of personal tragedy. This news will give hope to the desperately ill people who are waiting for that lifesaving phone call,” said NHSBT’S director of organ donation and transplantation Sally Johnson. 0 Theresa May announced a shift towards an opt-out system

“The increase in donations and transplants is made possible thanks to the generosity of donors and their families.”

In June last year the Scottish Government announced plans to move to a soft opt-out system, while an opt-out system has been operating in Wales since December 2015, Prime Minister Theresa May announced in October that the government will shift towards an opt-out organ donation system in England.

Around 500 people died last year while on the waiting list, or being taken off the list after becoming too unwell for transplant.

Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “As a country, we must build on the significant progress of the last 12 months.”