It is never too late to decide..
INFO.
Every year about 600,000 people in the UK die. But only about 6,000 are considered ‘eligible donors’—meaning they’ve died under the right circumstances and aren’t medically unsuitable for a transplant.
.....Last year only about 1,600 deceased people actually became donors, the drop-off mainly due to further medical concerns, hurdles, or not getting consent from their families. People can donate more than one organ, and last year around 4,000 transplants took place from deceased donors.
....Donations after death are more common than living donations, but they’re still relatively rare because they can only happen when people die in certain circumstances, and are medically suitable for a donation.
....Donations after death are more common than living donations, but they’re still relatively rare because they can only happen when people die in certain circumstances, and are medically suitable for a donation.
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.There is a shortage of organs available for transplant in the UK causing some people dying waiting.
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In 2017/18. Around 400 people, died while waiting for a transplant, A further 755 were removed the list, mostly because they had become too ill. Many of those patients would have died shortly afterwards, but we don’t know about their circumstances after leaving the list.
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Meanwhile around 6000 people are currently waiting for an organ in the UK.
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In England, and possibly other countries, doctors need to get consent before they can remove organs from someone for a transplant. They aren’t allowed to do so if the deceased person had previously refused consent. If no view had been expressed either way, consent is sought from an eligible relative.
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There are lots of barriers to an organ transplant taking place. The most significant ones are based on whether the patient was on ventilation before death, and whether the patient’s medical condition is suitable. Only if those tests are passed is consent sought from relatives of the deceased.
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Families don’t give consent for a variety of reasons. The most common include the patient having previously expressed a wish not to donate, when the family aren’t sure what the patient’s wishes would have been, the family feeling the process would take too long, and not wanting surgery done to the body.
...Increased consent rates don’t always guarantee more transplants. The transplant system has to be able to cope with an increased caseload.
