§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any requests for the implementation of a system of recording on a national register an agreement for organ donation for transplantation purposes in the event of sudden death.
§ Mr. DorrellWe have received a number of suggestions proposing a national computerised register of potential organ donors. Evidence from trial projects so far do not support the case for the high expenditure necessary.
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organs have been donated for transplantation purposes in the North West regional health authority area during each of the last five years.
§ Mr. DorrellThe number of organs donated in the North Western regional health authority as reported to the United Kingdom transplant support service is as follows:
Kidney Heart Heart/Lung Lung Liver 1986 86 11 2 0 9 1987 81 17 3 0 16 1988 120 17 9 0 23 1989 136 21 6 0 24 1990 148 24 6 6 32
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider introducing legislation for the implementation of an opt-out system to increase the number of organs for transplantation purposes.
§ Mr. DorrellNo.
§ Sir Michael McNair-WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies he has undertaken of the system of retrieving human organs for transplant operated in Belgian intensive therapy units; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DorrellNone.
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the medical profession regarding the introduction of new legislation to increase the number of organs available for transplantation.
§ Mr. DorrellThe conference of the medical royal colleges working party, which in 1987 looked into the 905W supply of donor organs for transplantation, recommended that organ donation could best be increased by introducing procedures for identifying and referring protential donors. The working party believed that this would be more effective than the introduction of legislation. We have accepted that recommendation.
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any requests for a note to be made on hospital admissions records of an individual's willingness to donate organs for transplantation in the event of death while in hospital.
§ Mr. DorrellThe content of the hospital admission forms is a matter for individual authorities to decide.
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost of kidney dialysis treatment for an individual patient over the course of one year; and what is the cost of carrying out a kidney transplant operation together with after-care costs for an individual patient.
§ Mr. DorrellThe cost of organ transplantation varies between units and according to the complexity of the case. The figure of around £10,000 for a kidney transplant represents the latest estimate of a likely cost at 1989–90 prices. Information is not collected centrally on the annual cost of the drug regime required to sustain organ transplants.
We hold no reliable information on the costs of maintaining dialysis patients, but according to a report published today by the Office of Health Economics the annual cost of dialysis is between £11,000 and £18,000.