Scottish Donation and Transplant Group (SDTG) – Note of 18 November 2021 Meeting

4. Post-2020 Plans

4.1. NSD Bridging Plan post-2020

26. Roseanne McDonald provided background on the NSD Bridging Plan and Commissioning Plan.

27. In respect of the Commissioning Plan, NSD are currently in the process of creating a mandate for medium to long-term planning for transplantation and are establishing a Strategic Reference Group to lead on this work. Roseanne also highlighted the importance of learning from experiences during the pandemic, including what digital technology can offer.

4.2. UK Organ Utilisation Group update

28. John Forsythe provided an update on the UK Organ Utilisation Group (OUG). He noted that the OUG has representation from across the UK nations. Three meetings of the main group have already taken place and Chairs have been appointed for the sub-groups, which have commenced work on their programmes. A stakeholder workshop was held on 07 October and the online call for evidence closed on 25 October.

29. There was a very good response rate for the online call for evidence, from a wide range of organisations.

30. It was noted that the OUG will to report back their recommendations to Ministers by March 2022 and are on track to achieve this.

4.3. UK Strategy update

31. Anthony Clarkson advised that NHSBT are currently waiting for an announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care about funding, which is not expected until after the new year, so they are unable to plan further work on implementation until this is confirmed.