§ 28. Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on waiting lists for kidney treatment.
§ Mr. John PattenThe number of patients awaiting treatment for renal failure is not recorded centrally. On 1 April 1985 the number of patients in the United Kingdom who were awaiting a kidney transplant, according to information supplied by the United Kingdom transplant service, was 2,862; virtually all of these patients will already be receiving dialysis. It is likely that this figure will continue to increase despite record numbers of kidney transplant operations performed in 1983 and 1984, since improvements in surgical and immunosuppressive techniques mean that more renal patients are being referred as suitable for transplantation and more patients are being taken on to dialysis.
In the 12 months following the launch in February 1984 of the campaign to promote the donor card scheme, over 12.5 million new cards were issued and the number of kidney transplants performed was 1,415, 30 per cent. more than the total of 1,089 for the previous 12 months.