Patients across the country are set to benefit from improvements to organ transplant services, as the Government accepts recommendations on how to ensure as many lives are saved as possible.
The recommendations come from the Organ Utilisation Group’s Honouring the gift of donation – utilising organs for transplant report that advised health leaders to put the patient at the centre of the conversation, develop better working practices to ensure more organs are used and enable better collaboration across sector organisations.
Minster for Health, Neil O’Brien, said: “This government vowed to increase organ donation and improve organ transplant services – including by making the most of scientific advances and adopting novel technologies across the country as early as possible – and we are keeping our promise.
“We are taking forward recommendations which will ensure as many organs as possible are matched with the recipients who need them as well as improving the experience of waiting for a life-saving organ.”
In more detail, the recommendations call for:
- Service-users and clinicians to explore how they can communicate more effectively through the entire organ transplant process.
- Regular feedback from transplant centres to help those waiting for a donation make more informed decisions and better understand all the clinical options available to them.
- Faster reviews if organs are declined and the sharing of best practice across the industry.
With approximately 7,000 patients on the active list for a transplant and those waiting experiencing life-threatening difficulties every day, the Government commissioned the Organ Utilisation Group to investigate how the existing organ transplant system could be streamlined to save as many lives as possible.
The Organ Utilisation Group’s Co-Chair, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, explained: “Organ donation is a precious gift of life, helping to save or improve the lives of thousands of people each year. The recommendations in this report will drive improvements to the transplantation service, ensuring that as many donated organs can be successfully transplanted as possible, and deliver real improvements for patients and their families, enabling them to have the best experience and outcomes possible.
“Driving, developing and supporting research and innovations in transplantation will be key to these improvements. National multi-organ centres for assessment and repair will increase the opportunities to bring new techniques into everyday clinical practice, maximising the number and quality of organs available for transplant.
The Government also say a review of heart and lung services will take place to ensure the health service has enough staff to carry out the necessary procedures, which will be tied into the long-term NHS workforce planning.
