Urgent call for living kidney donors in Greater Manchester
The number of living kidney donors has hit an eight year low.
NHS Blood and Transplant has warned of a worrying decline in living kidney donation in Greater Manchester as new national figures hit an eight year low.
In Manchester, there were only 35 living kidney donors in 2017, compared to 49 in 2013. There are currently 222 people waiting for a kidney in Manchester and 115 people have died on the transplant waiting list waiting for a kidney in the last five years.
The figures have been released to coincide with World Kidney Day, alongside an appeal for more people to consider making a life-transforming donation while they are still alive.
Most living donations are between family and friends. People can also choose to donate altruistically, when their kidney is matched anonymously to a suitable person on the waiting list.
Lisa Burnapp, NHS Blood and Transplant Lead Nurse for Kidney Donation, said: “Last year, 261 people died in the UK waiting for a kidney transplant, and many of those lives could have been saved through increased living kidney donation.
“Living donation has been a major success story for the UK, with 1 in 3 patients receiving a kidney transplant from a living donor, so the decline in Manchester and around the UK is worrying.
“We are investigating the causes and working closely with the clinical community, NHS England and Health Departments in all four UK countries to reverse the trend.
“Anonymous altruistic donations are especially important because they can start transplant chains. It’s no coincidence that the high figures for 2013 came when altruistic donation was at its highest ever level.”
For more information on living donation visitwww.organdonation.nhs.uk