Majority of people in need of a transplant across Lincolnshire need a kidney
It comes as new research finds just 13% of adults would consider donating a kidney to a stranger
Last updated 8th May 2024
We've gathered figures that show 85% of people across Lincolnshire that are in need of a transplant - need a kidney.
It comes as new research finds one in two people in the East Midlands would donate a kidney for a family member - yet only 13% of adults would for a stranger.
In Lincolnshire 105 of the 120 people waiting for an organ transplant - are in need of a kidney according to NHS Blood and Transplant.
Meanwhile, across Northern Lincolnshire 31 people are in need of a transplant and 21 of those need a kidney.
Mandy Talbott is from Caistor - she gave her kidney at 53 years old to her cousin Lou - at the time she had a cadaver kidney which was failing.
Mandy tells us what it meant to her to change Lou's life:
"She was my beloved cousin, 10 years younger than me. An absolute star right from childhood, very feisty and she was an inspiration to me.
"She'd been on dialysis for 10 years, and it was getting to the stage where she needed a kidney... out of the blue, Lou got a cadaver kidney, and she had a very successful time for about 8 and a half years and then it became apparent it was failing and I immediately volunteered.
"I'm lucky. I'm a healthy 66 year old now. I'm not super fit or anything like that... I'm just ordinary and it was just, something I could do."
Often labelled as a ‘silent killer’, kidney disease can appear without physical symptoms and is often misdiagnosed. It means there are thousands of people in the UK in need of a new kidney, a transplant can transform the life of someone living with the disease.
However, a new charity poll reveals that too few of us would consider donating a kidney to someone that we don't know.
In an effort to encourage more people to consider a living kidney donation, new research from the Kidney Research UK reveals just 13% of adults in the UK would consider donating a kidney to a stranger, despite the overwhelming majority (80%) of people believing you can change someone’s life even if you’ve never met them.
The poll – undertaken by YouGov – is part of a new UK-wide campaign, Make Your Mark, launched by two national charities, to encourage more people to consider becoming a living kidney donor.
The research also highlights that 55% of all Britons would consider donating a kidney to a family member while nearly a third (30%) would consider donating to a friend.
Kidney disease can have a drastic effect on those living with the condition and their families. The research also shines a light on a widespread knowledge gap amongst the general public with only 15% of people stating they've recently heard about living kidney donation.
These findings come at the same time as national statistics show more than 5,500 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the UK, and six people die each week whilst waiting.
Make Your Mark has been launched by the charities Kidney Research UK and Give a Kidney to raise awareness and help more people understand what it means to be a living donor. The two charities are working with support from NHS Blood and Transplant as well as a full panel of specialist clinical and surgical advisors.
The campaign forms part of a wider programme of activity that will provide potential donors with information and specialist help to guide and support them throughout their donation journey, starting with the Make Your Mark website.
Worldwide, kidney diseases are the tenth most common cause of death and the number of people developing kidney disease in the UK is growing rapidly, driven by risk factors including increased cases of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity, alongside social and economic inequalities.