§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaths in each of the last five years were due to kidney failure.
§ Mr. AlisonI regret that this information is not available. Such deaths are classified according to the underlying cause of the kidney failure.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many kidney transplant operations took place in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. AlisonThe information is as follows:
1968 … … … about 200* 1969 … … … about 200* 1970 … … … 274 1971 … … … 315 * Precise information is not available for these years. For the year beginning 1st February 1972: 465.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the number of lives lost in each of the last five years because the necessary kidneys were not available for transplantation.
§ Mr. AlisonNo estimate has been made. Renal transplantation patients are normally selected from those already being maintained by regular haemo-dialysis. If it is considered that transplantation is the appropriate form of treatment, a dialysis patient's name is placed in the recipient pool contained on the computer at the National Organ Matching and Distribution Centre at Bristol. He will receive a kidney graft when a suitable organ becomes available. Meanwhile, he will continue to be maintained by haemodialysis.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what percentage the supply of kidneys for transplantation has increased since the beginning of the campaign last November.
§ Mr. AlisonFrom 14th November last until 19th March, about 150 renal transplants were carried out in the United 259W Kingdom. The donor card scheme has not run long enough to enable meaningful comparisons to be carried out.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many designated centres undertake kidney transplant operations; and where they are situated.
§ Mr. AlisonThere are 15 in England. They are situated as follows:
England
- Leeds: St. James's Hospital.
- Newcastle: Royal Victoria Infirmary.
- Sheffield: Royal Hospital.
- Birmingham: Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
- Manchester: Royal Infirmary.
- Liverpool: Royal Infirmary.
- Bristol: Southmead Hospital.
- Cambridge: Addenbrooke's Hospital.
London:
- Charing Cross Hospital.
- Guy's Hospital/King's College Hospital.
- Hammersmith Hospital.
- The London Hospital.
- Royal Free Hospital.
- St. Mary's Hospital.
- St. Thomas' Hospital.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the number of doctors and the number of hospitals at present displaying in their waiting rooms explanatory cards designed to improve the supply of kidneys for those dying of kidney disease.
§ Mr. AlisonAll appropriate hospitals and general practitioners have been sent supplies of the kidney donor cards. It is too soon to estimate how many hospitals and general practitioners are displaying these cards, but I have no evidence that other than a very few have declined to display them.
My Department has received many requests for further supplies of donor cards from these sources.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the supply of kidneys for transplantation; and if he will take steps to make it easier to obtain consent for the use of kidneys for transplantation.
§ Sir K. JosephDespite a welcome increase in the number of kidneys becoming available for transplantation and the number of operations being carried out, there remains a continuing need for more cadaver kidneys. The intention of the260W kidney donor recruitment scheme, which was launched last November and which operates within the framework of the Human Tissue Act 1961, was to help create and maintain over a period of time a climate of opinion in which it will be easier to ask for and obtain consent for the use of more kidneys for transplantation. This will not only enable more kidneys to be transplanted, but will improve the recipient's chances of getting a kidney which is closely matched with his own tissue.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of kidneys that will be required for transplantation in the next five years and the number of kidneys that will be available on the assumption that there is no substantial change in the rate of supply.
§ Mr. AlisonThe object is to provide a service in each hospital region with each renal transplanation unit working to an optimum caseload of 50 transplants a year. I have been advised that strategic needs would best be served at this time by approximately 20 centres throughout the country. This would represent some 1,000 operations a year, and I would expect this level to be reached within five years.
I have every hope that the present increase in the number of kidneys will not only make it possible to continue to increase the number of transplants but will also allow an improvement in the recipient's chances of getting a kidney which is closely matched with his own.