Nottingham has the highest number of organ donors in the UK, outside of London | Latest news

Nottingham has the highest number of organ donors in the UK, outside of London

New figures reveal there were 48 lifesaving deceased organ donors at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) last year, helping the UK reach its highest ever number of donors. This places NUH as the leading hospital in the UK, outside of London, for the number of organ donors in 2018-2019.  

London King’s College Hospital ranks as the first hospital in the UK for the number of organ donors, with 49 donors last year, only one donor ahead of Nottingham’s QMC.

NHS Blood and Transplant and NUH have released the figures to mark the publication of the annual Transplant Activity Report today (Thursday, July 18th).

The report reveals there is growing support for organ donation around the country. Nationally, there was a record number of organ donors, with 1,600 people saving lives through deceased organ donation over the last year. 

However, the report also shows that across the UK, fewer people died in circumstances where they were able to donate their organs – 225 fewer than in 2017/18. This means it is more important than ever that every person who wants and is able to donate their organs after death, is given the opportunity to do so.

Samantha Bradshaw, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation at NUH said:

““I am privileged to care for our patients and their families, and the lasting legacy that each donor leaves behind impacts the lives of others.  As a Trust, we are really proud of our position as a major contributor to organ donation in the UK. This is testament to the outstanding work that our clinical and support teams do, to promote and encourage the donation of organs to help save the lives of other critically ill patients.”

“I can’t stress how important it is to let your family know that you would want to support organ donation; it’s hugely important that families know what their relative would have wanted to happen.  Talking about your organ donation decision to your relatives makes it much easier for them to support what you want. Letting your family know that you want to save lives will make it much easier if there comes a time when organ donation is a possibility.”

From spring 2020, the law around organ and tissue donation in England is changing. All adults in England will be considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they record a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups.*

Organ donation is a most precious gift and adults covered by the change will still have a choice whether they want to be an organ donor and their families will still be involved before organ donation goes ahead.


Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said:

“We’re incredibly grateful to our dedicated colleagues at Nottingham University Hospitals and all the courageous donors and their families they worked with us to support and who helped us to save so many lives last year.

“Organ donation is the only hope for many desperately ill people. We know many families feel a sense of pride and comfort from their decision to let their relative’s final act to be saving lives through organ donation.

“No lifesaving transplant would be possible without the generosity of every donor and their families, who give their support and say ‘yes’ to organ donation.

With the law around organ donation changing in England from next spring, we urge everyone to find out about the choices available to them, make their decision and share it with their family.”

Find out more and register your decision by visiting NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk and share your decision with your family.

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