§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the number of people whose organs are likely to be suitable for donation for transplant who are currently carrying donor cards;
(2) if he will estimate the number of people who have died in hospital whose organs would have been suitable for transplant but where no donation was made during the last five years; and if he will list the principal reasons for such action not being taken.
§ Mr. FreemanThe basic information required to form reliable estimates of the number of potential organ donors236W is not yet available. On 1 January 1989, health authorities in England will begin a survey which should provide a clearer picture of the total potential and the reasons why donation sometimes does not take place. For further details of this initiative, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 13 December 1988 at column 555.
Different sample surveys produce varying estimates of donor card ownership, but it appears likely that between 20 and 30 per cent. of the general public posess a donor card.