Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the NHS is of (a) surgery to transplant a kidney and (b) medication for a year for a kidney transplant recipient.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for transplant services across the United Kingdom. Transplants represent a cost-efficient treatment and in the case of kidneys is a cost saving to the National Health Service.

The following table shows the estimated national average unit cost of a kidney transplant for 2023/24 for people aged 19 years old and over:

Source: NHSBT

The cost to the NHS of medication for a kidney transplant recipient for the first year after transplant can range on average between £9,000 and £13,000. Following this, costs can range on average between £5,000 and £8,000 per patient per year. These estimated costs are based on British National Formulary list price. For some drugs, the NHS can access confidential prices that cannot be shared outside of the NHS. The average cost does not take into consideration additional treatments in the event of complications such as infections and post-transplant rejections.