§ Mr. Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he can yet give the number of kidney transplants performed in 1983; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FowlerThe provisional total for the United Kingdom was 1,160, an increase of about 13 per cent. over the previous record figure achieved in 1982. This is a most encouraging advance, but with over 2,400 patients awaiting a transplant there remains an urgent need to increase the number still further. The limiting factor is still the supply of kidneys. We shall shortly be launching a new publicity campaign to increase public awareness of the need for transplantation and encourage the widest use of the organ donor card.