Organs: Donors
(asked on 27th June 2017) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report, Taking organ transplantation to 2020: a detailed strategy, published in 2013, what progress his Department has made towards increasing consent rates for deceased organ donation to 80 per cent by 2020.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organ donor organisation for the United Kingdom and is responsible for promoting organ donation and the matching and offering of donated organs.
The UK Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 Strategy (2013) sets an ambitious target to achieve world class consent rates to donation after death of over 80% by 2020. One action to achieve this was the development of national strategies to promote a shift in behaviour to increase consent.
The consent/authorisation rate has increased, from 59% in 2013/14 to 63% in 2016/17 but is behind the Strategy’s target of 70% for 2016/17. The rates since 2013/14, and the Strategy target dates, are set out in the table below.
Consent/Authorisation1 rates by financial year
Financial year | 2020 Strategy2 target rate (%) | Actual rate (%) |
2013/14 | 61.5 | 59 |
2014/15 | 61.5 | 58 |
2015/16 | 64 | 62 |
2016/17 | 70 | 63 |
2017/18 | 70 | N/A |
2018/19 | 75 | N/A |
2019/20 | 80 | N/A |
Source – NHS Blood and Transplant
Notes:
1 Authorisation is the term used in Scotland for consent.
2 UK Taking Organ Donation to 2020 Strategy, July 2013
The 2020 Oversight Group (with membership from the Department and the Devolved Administrations, NHSBT, professional bodies and voluntary sector stakeholders) reviewed the strategy in November 2016. In addition to the specific actions recorded in the Strategy, the Oversight Group identified new actions that might contribute to increasing consent rates. These are outlined in the supplementary action plan available at:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/2296/tot20-review.pdf
NHSBT has also introduced several operational initiatives to increase the consent rate, including: a new role within the Specialist Nurse – Organ Donation team that focuses on obtaining consent to build greater expertise and experience; and a number of communications and marketing initiatives to encourage people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register and to tell their family of their wishes.