Overview
- NHS Blood and Transplant has declared an urgent response after deceased donor numbers fell about 9% year‑on‑year and the transplant waiting list reached roughly 8,700 people.
- The service says about nine people die each week while waiting for a transplant, prompting a public appeal to persuade one million previously unregistered people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register this year.
- NHSBT identifies a roughly 20% drop in the pool of eligible donors since 2019–20, partly because fewer trauma deaths and pandemic-era shifts mean only about 1% of deaths now occur in circumstances suitable for donation.
- Family consent rates have fallen from around 67–68% to about 57–59%, and NHSBT reports that when families know a loved one’s recorded decision they support donation about 90% of the time versus roughly 50% when no decision is known.
- Between April 2021 and March 2026 more than 700 potential donations did not proceed, equating to about 2,127 missed organ opportunities, and the response plan pairs hospital coordination with a public drive to reduce those missed chances.