News

Organ transplant waiting list hits record high as donor and transplant numbers fall
More people than ever before are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in the UK – but donor and transplant numbers have fallen.

Colleagues pay heartfelt tribute to victims and heroes of 7/7 bombings
Colleagues from across NHS Blood and Transplant have paid tribute to the 52 people who lost their lives in the 7/7 London bombings and praised the courage of NHS staff and the selfless blood and tissue donors who helped save many others that day.

NHS introduces new training to ensure tissue and eye donation is not overlooked in the end-of-life process
This Dying Matters Week (5 to 11 May), NHS Blood and Transplant is calling on healthcare professionals and the public to ensure tissue and eye donation is an integral part of end-of-life care planning.

How the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme is changing lives
In the first Living Donation Week (10 to 16 March) NHS Blood and Transplant reveals 2,000 lives have been saved by living donors who selflessly gave their kidneys to a stranger.

Eleven people became lifesaving and life improving organ donors on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 11 people became organ donors after death, enabling up to 35 lifesaving or life improving organ transplants, NHS Blood and Transplant figures show.

More than half the children transformed into dolls as part of an award-winning national organ donation campaign have now received a lifesaving transplant in time for Christmas
More than half of a group of children who were transformed into handmade dolls, to raise awareness of the need for young organ donors, have received their life-saving organ transplants in time for Christmas. But hundreds of children are still waiting for a gift Santa can’t bring.

Conference held to develop messages and promote organ donation
A conference organised by the National Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and Minority Ethnic Transplant Alliance (NBTA) and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) took place in June 2024 to address low organ donation rates among minority ethnic communities in the UK.

MPs help celebrate the 100,000 lives saved through organ donation in the UK over the last 30 years
NHS Blood and Transplant hosted a joint event with Kidney Care UK in Westminster with patients, MPs, ministers, and policy makers coming together to hear how more than 100,000 transplants have taken place in the last 30 years since the creation of the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Five year high on number of ethnic minority patients receiving a lifesaving organ transplant - but there’s a significant drop in the number of donations
A new report published today by NHS Blood and Transplant shows a five year high on the number of patients of Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds receiving an organ transplant.

More than 100,000 lives saved through organ donation in the UK over last 30 years
This Organ Donation Week (23rd – 29th September) NHS Blood and Transplant is celebrating the fact that more than 100,000 lives have been saved over the last 30 years thanks to people agreeing to donate their organs.