Health officials make plea after ‘sharp’ decline in organ donation

There has been a “sharp” decline in organ donation which has led to the “most challenging periods for organ donation in over a decade”, health leaders have warned.

People have been urged to sign the NHS Organ Donor Register after fewer families consented for their loved one to donate their organs and a reduction in eligible donors.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said “urgent action” is needed to help 8,700 people waiting for a transplant.

It has launched an “urgent response plan” to try and tackle the dip in donors – with deceased donation rates currently 9% below this time last year.

Work is under way to try and find out why there has been a dip in donor numbers.

The plan also aims to improve family consent rates which have fallen from 67% in 2020/21 to 57% last year.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHSBT, said: “We are facing one of the most challenging periods for organ donation in over a decade. The sharp decline in donors and the rising number of people waiting for a transplant need urgent action.

“We have already adapted significantly to changes in the donation environment, but saving lives and reducing the waiting list needs collective effort across the NHS and society.

“There is a simple action the public can take to help save lives. Please sign the NHS Organ Donor Register. Most of us would accept an organ if we needed one but opportunities to save lives are being lost because families didn’t know what their loved ones wanted. Leave them certain.”

Nicola and David Lee consented to donate their daughter Miriam’s organs after she registered to be an organ donor and made her wishes known.

They said it is a “true honour” to see the little boy who received her liver grow up.

Miriam, from Northamptonshire, died when she was 17 from sudden cardiac arrest.

Her liver was donated to Ollie Jolliff, from Dorset, who needed a transplant at 11-months-old in 2016 due to a genetic condition.

Ollie’s elder brother Kieran died from the same condition four years earlier.

Their mother Hannah Jolliff said: “Sadly, a transplant wasn’t an option for Kieran and he passed away at four-years-old, having spent most of his life in hospital. It was incredibly difficult and we miss him every single day.

“When Ollie was born, four years later, he was immediately tested, diagnosed and put on medication, to help control the ammonia levels and he was put on the transplant waiting list straight away.

“He was on the list for 11 months, time which we spent in and out of hospital, unable to travel in case we got the call, and desperately hoping that Ollie would get the transplant he needed. It was a really difficult wait.

“We got the call to say that a match had been found for Ollie on the morning of what would have been Kieran’s 10th birthday. Thankfully, the surgery went well and Ollie recovered quickly.

“It’s 10 years this year since Ollie received his transplant and he’s doing so well – he’s going into his last year of primary school, he’s got passions and interests and he’s living his life like any other 10-year-old boy. We feel incredibly lucky.”

Mrs Lee said her daughter’s death was “completely out of the blue”, adding: “Amongst our grief, we knew we had to think about organ donation. Miriam had registered on the Organ Donor Register when she was registering to give blood and as a part of the process, she had also told us her wishes. So, we knew we had to honour them.

“She wanted to offer everything she could and positively impact as many lives as possible. When we heard from Hannah and Mike and learned that Miriam’s liver had gone to tiny Ollie, it was such an emotional moment. Meeting them was more emotional still and it has been a true honour to see Ollie grow up.”

Mrs Jolliff added: “Ollie knows he’s got a special liver, and he knows that Miriam is the special girl who gave it to him. We’re so aware of how different things could have been had Miriam and her family not made the decision to donate. It was a difficult and completely selfless decision, and we are so grateful to them.

“Organ donation is something very special. It can completely change the lives of people like Ollie and us, as his parents. We’d urge everybody who can to consider what their decision would be and to confirm it on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

“There are thousands of people out there who are waiting for somebody to be their match and the more people who agree, the better a chance they have of finding it, just like Ollie did.”

Mr Clarkson added: “It takes two minutes to confirm an organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Each donor can potentially save up to nine lives. Visit organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23, or use the NHS app.”

Organ Donation Week, which raises awareness about the importance of organ donation, began on Monday.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Lives are saved and thousands of people get the chance of a new lease of life thanks to organ transplants, but that is only possible because of the kindness and compassion of those who register as organ donors.

“This Organ Donation Week is a good time for people to register their decision online and talk to their families about their wishes.

“It only takes two minutes, but one day in the future, it could save someone else’s life.”