Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made in improving access to kidney transplantation, including reducing waiting times and increasing rates of living and deceased organ donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation services in the United Kingdom. Figures on the number of patients active on the kidney transplant waiting list and median waiting times are available at the following link:

https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/36811/section-5-kidney-activity.pdf

The Department, along with NHSBT, continues to take action to improve access to kidney transplantation. This includes high profile, year-round campaigns including Living Donation Week, Organ Donation Week, and World Kidney Day, and partnerships with charities and community groups to promote living donation, the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme (UKLKSS) and the importance of declaring wishes on the Organ Donation Register (ODR). In addition, the Living Donor Futures programme, launching this early this year, will look at how NHSBT can support the growth of living donor programmes locally and within the UKLKSS. Further information on the UKLKSS is available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/living-donation/uk-living-kidney-sharing-scheme/;

The Department-led Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation is working to maximise the potential for organ transplantation, aiming to reduce waiting times and improve access. This includes the initiation of a national programme of Assessment and Recovery Centres (ARCs) by NHSBT, which will utilise innovation to enhance the assessment, evaluation, and utilisation of donor organs. Pilot ARCs are set to begin in early 2026. Further information on the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation is available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/odt-structures-and-standards/clinical-leadership/implementation-steering-group-for-organ-utilisation/

Additionally, the Organ Donation Joint Working Group recently published recommendations to improve organ donation consent rates, increase societal action for organ donation, and increase the pool of potential donors in their report this January. The recommendations are available at the following link:

https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/38066/odjwg-report.pdf