Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce kidney transplant waiting times, (b) respond to the findings of the Organ Utilisation Group’s 2023 report, and (c) ensure that all patients have fair and equitable access to life-saving transplant services.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation and transplantation in the United Kingdom. They also manage the NHS Organ Donor Register and the National Transplant Register.

In 2023, the Organ Utilisation Group published 12 recommendations on how to maximise the potential for organ transplantation to reduce waiting times and improve access. Following this, the Department established the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation (ISOU) to oversee and coordinate the implementation of these recommendations, concluding its work in December 2025. Further information on the ISOU is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.odt.nhs.uk/odt-structures-and-standards/clinical-leadership/implementation-steering-group-for-organ-utilisation/

The final ISOU closure report will be published shortly, and remaining actions will be handed over to NHSBT, NHS England, and others. Further information on the outputs of the ISOU is available at the following link:

https://www.odt.nhs.uk/odt-structures-and-standards/clinical-leadership/implementation-steering-group-for-organ-utilisation/

NHSBT ensures fair and equitable access to transplants by monitoring performance of the organ allocation schemes via the NHSBT organ advisory groups and the National Transplant Clinical Panel.

NHSBT supports Living Donation Week, World Kidney Day, and Organ Donation Week every year, alongside other targeted campaigns, in partnership with charities and community groups, to promote living donation and the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme, and the importance of declaring wishes on the Organ Donor Register. Further information on the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme is available at the following link:

https://www.odt.nhs.uk/living-donation/uk-living-kidney-sharing-scheme/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will consider allowing families of vulnerable patients who are at highest risk, particularly those affected by transplants and kidney disease, access to NHS COVID vaccinations.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19.

The JCVI has advised that population immunity to COVID-19 has increased due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.

The JCVI has also advised that as currently available COVID-19 vaccines provide limited protection against transmission and mild or asymptomatic disease, the focus of the programme is on offering vaccination to those most likely to directly benefit from vaccination. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.

The Government has accepted the JCVI advice for autumn 2025 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups:

• adults aged 75 years old and over;
• residents in care homes for older adults; and
• individuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed.

As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.

Found: Jo White: Can I correct the record?