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Organ donation at 10-year high
14/05/2009
Scotland's organ donation rate has hit a 10-year high.
In the year to April, there were 72 deceased organ donations in Scotland - a rate of 14.1 per million of population, up from 9.8 per million two years previously.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said that this progress was welcome in light of Scotland's ambitious target to reach a donor rate of 24 per million by 2013.
This goal was set following a report from the UK Organ Donation Taskforce in November 2008.
Speaking at the 'Organ Donation in Scotland' conference in Edinburgh today, Ms Sturgeon told an audience of professionals from the transplantation field:
"We want to bring about a doubling of the number of organ donors. But that's against a background of the UK - including Scotland - having had one of the lowest rates of organ donation in Western Europe.
"I'm glad to say that there are real signs things are improving. In the past year, there were 72 deceased donors in Scotland - the highest number for 10 years, which is a rate of 14.1 per million people.
"The challenge we have set is that we should reach a rate of 24 donors per million by 2013. That would mean 120 actual donors.
"We do not underestimate that challenge, but we are determined to rise to it so that no-one should have to die for lack of a donated organ."
Ms Sturgeon said Scotland was making excellent progress on the Taskforce's other recommendations, including the establishment of clinical leads for organ donation in Scotland's largest hospitals.
The Health Secretary has appointed John Forsythe, as Scotland's lead clinician for transplantation. He chairs the Scottish Transplant Group which will oversee the implementation of the Taskforce's recommendations in Scotland.
Mr Forsythe said:
"It is a great tribute to the generosity of the Scottish population and to the work of the Scottish Transplant Group that organ donor rates have increased from very low levels to figures that are much more comparable with other European countries.
"Yet there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that donor numbers increase further to match the best rates seen in countries such as Spain and Belgium.
"But for now, record transplant numbers mean that fewer patients are suffering a long wait on the transplant list and this is very good news indeed."
Dr Stephen Cole, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, said:
"Our priority when dealing with critically ill patients in Intensive care is to try to return them to their previous health
"Although outcomes are improving year on year, the sad reality is that some critically ill patients do not respond to treatment and are not going to get better. In these cases discussion of donation may be appropriate along with other end of life choices.
"One of the key roles of the hospital Clinical Donation Leads will be to try to ensure that these important discussions become a regular part of end of life care and that patients' previously expressed wishes are honoured."
With the Organ Donation Taskforce calling for greater public awareness of organ donation, the Scottish Government has funded a leaflet on the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006, to make people aware of the rights it gives them in authorising the donation of organs for transplant.
In addition, the Scottish Government is funding the revision of its organ donation teaching resource pack for use in secondary education.