HC Deb 20 May 1997 vol 294 cc504-5
16. Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the current shortage of kidney and other donor organs. [419]

Ms Jowell

Some 2,800 organ transplants were performed in the United Kingdom in 1996. More than half of them involved the transplantation of kidneys. Some 6,000 people are currently awaiting organs, 5,000 of them for kidney transplants.

The shortfall of organs is due in part to the great success of advances in medicine and public health which mean that fewer people are dying, for instance, in road accidents, and people are recovering from catastrophic illnesses which even a short time ago would have led to their deaths.

Mr. Dalyell

Would Ministers be sympathetic to an amendment of the Human Tissue Act 1961 along opting-out lines?

Ms Jowell

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend's long-standing interest in and concern about the issue. We are very aware of the stress suffered by patients who have to wait a long time for transplants and, like my hon. Friend, we would like the supply of organs to increase. Transplantation is a sensitive issue and approaches to organ donation must command public confidence. We shall therefore be discussing the means of increasing the number of organs available with interested organisations such as the UK Transplant Support Service Authority, the medical profession, transplant co-ordinators and patients' organisations such as the British Kidney Patients Association and the National Kidney Federation. That would be our preferred approach to dealing with the shortfall of organs at this stage.

Mr. Soames

I congratulate the hon. Lady on her new post. Does she agree that the system of advertising for organ donors has been extremely successful and has commanded the confidence of nearly everyone in the country? She is right to refer to the importance of that. Does the hon. Lady also agree that it is very important for the advertising campaigns to continue? Will she take a fresh look to see whether a more novel approach could be instituted to establish further the confidence that is needed throughout the population to ensure a full and proper supply of organ donors for the future?

Ms Jowell

Advertising is one part of the strategy that we would want to assess for increasing the availability of organs for transplant, but I repeat that any steps that we take must command public confidence and there must be a broad public consensus in their favour.