NHS achieves 50 percent increase in organ donations

Data from NHS Blood and Transplant has revealed that the British health service has hit its target of a 50 percent increase in deceased organ donation since 2008.

Thanks to the work of the Organ Donation Taskforce, the number of deceased organ donors across the UK in 2012/13 rose to 1,212 – a significant improvement given the lack of any increase in the number of donors over the previous decade.

It is estimated that this will have positively impacted the lives of more than 3,100 patients over the last 12 months, thanks to a 30.5 percent rise in the number of people receiving a life-saving or enhancing organ transplant in the last five years.

However, it was observed that further improvements are needed, particularly given the fact that 125 families overruled the intention of a deceased loved one to donate organs in 2011/12 alone.

Sally Johnson, NHS Blood and Transplant's director of organ donation and transplantation, said: "We need a transformation in donor and family consent to organ donation because the UK's family refusal rate remains one of the highest in Europe."

Earlier this year, the organisation noted that particular attention needs to be paid to increasing donation rates among black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.