15.08.13
Nearly half of all families refuse organ donation
Hospitals must build on best practice to increase organ donation, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has urged.
In 2012/13, hospitals carried out 4,212 transplants – a 6% increase on the previous year. But 43% of families approached refused to give their consent/authorisation for their relative’s organs to be used.
More than one in five patients who were potential donors after brain-stem death (DBD) were not tested and over a third of potential donors after circulatory death (DCD) were not referred for donation.
One in three families of all potential deceased organ donors were not approached and three out of ten approaches did not include a specialist nurse in organ donation.
Dr Paul Murphy, national clinical lead in organ donation at NHS BT said: “Acute hospitals have made a very significant contribution to the increase in deceased organ donors over the last five years, particularly in terms of an increase in the identification of potential donors and their referral to the local donation team. But more can and needs to be done.”
There could be approximately 1,500 more deceased donor transplants each year, he said. Greater collaboration between NHS BT and hospitals could help to identify potential donors and ensure their wishes are respected.
“We need all possible donors to be identified and referred as soon as possible, and we need you to work collaboratively with our staff, particularly when supporting families through decision making. Only in this way will patients stand the best chance of getting the transplants that they need and hospitals realise the health economic benefits of transplantation.”
Professor Anthony Warrens, president of the British Transplantation Society and Professor of Renal and Transplantation Medicine at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry said: “The complexities of identifying donors and matching them with recipients are significant.”
But he added: “Transplantation is a very good example of effective and patient-focused interdisciplinary working. Not only do physicians and surgeons collaborate effectively, but nurse specialists and clinical scientists have appropriately very prominent roles in leading the national transplant conversation.
“We believe this effective collaborative working has helped deliver the increase in transplants. And we believe it will allow the transplant community to work effectively to achieve the goals set out in Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: a UK strategy. Achieving these goals would take us to the head of the queue in international transplant performance – to the great benefit of our patients.”
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