Overview

• Rory Fletcher, six months old with dilated cardiomyopathy, remains in intensive care at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
• She is supported by a mechanical heart pump as a bridge to transplant because suitably sized infant donor hearts are rare.
• NHS Blood and Transplant says about 8,000 people are waiting for organs in the UK after a 2% fall in deceased donors last year.
• In the past decade, more than 12,000 people died or were removed from waiting lists before transplant, while over 44,000 received organs.
• NHSBT urged people to register and inform relatives of their wishes, reporting 173 registered decisions were overruled and 520 presumed-consent cases lacked family support last year.