Scottish Donation and Transplant Group written update: August 2024

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) 

Update given by:

• Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation

Performance

The past financial (2023/24) saw a six percent increase in deceased organ donors in the UK compared to the previous year, with 1,510 people donating after death and 3696 resulting transplants. Scotland performed particularly well, seeing a 30% increase in this same period (from 258 to 336 deceased donors). 

At UK level, the number of donors eligible for donation continues to be under pressure and in the months since April we have seen proceeding donors remain some 36 (7%) below target so far. Organ utilisation has however continued to strengthen, meaning that the number of transplants is just 24 (2%) behind plan. Between the beginning of April and the end of July, we have had 465 deceased donors in the UK, leading to 1188 transplants. This continues two key trends: 1) that the eligible donor pool is still c.17% below pre-2020 levels and 2) that we are making up for this by increasing the number of Donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors. Non-proceeding donors have been reduced by about 35% since 2020, meaning colleagues are utilising more organs from marginal donors. Unfortunately, there is also a third trend to mention - continued growth of the transplant list. There are now over 7,600 people waiting, a 25% increase since 2020. 

Consent also remains one of our biggest challenges, with a consent rate of 61% (below our target on 66%).

Finances

The above trends mean we are asking all funders to maintain our donor infrastructure and invest in organ preservation. We are grateful for Scotland's support in 2024/25, recognising that this is a hard-won outcome in the financial environment. 

NHSBT leadership

NHSBT has appointed Julie Pinder as our new Chief People Officer, starting in September. Julie is an experienced HR leader who has worked across the private and public sector, most recently as the Chief People Officer for NHS Digital. Prior to this, Julie was HR Director for the Department of Work and Pensions, where she spent 15 years working across a range of HR roles, with a focus on transformation programmes and driving employee engagement and cultural change.

We have also appointed a new Director of Communications and Engagement, who will be announced shortly.