Organ Transplants (Hansard, 4 November 2002)

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath:

United Kingdom Transplant is a special health authority set up for the purpose of registering patients waiting for an organ transplant, agreeing the protocols by which organs are allocated, organising the transport of organs and making sure that the transplant services comply with the Human Organ Transplant Act. It has also been given the responsibility of improving organ procurement, ensuring best practice is adopted across the UK and strengthening the network of transplant co-ordinators.

Nearly £4 million is being invested in the National Health Service through UK Transplant to boost the number of life-saving organ transplants. This is funding 35 donor liaison schemes to improve procedures for identifying possible organ donors and the steps to take so that relatives are approached and given the opportunity to decide about donation. It is also supporting 25 living donation programmes, 10 additional transplant co-ordinators and six non-heartbeating donor programmes.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is looking at the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of immuno-suppressive regimens for renal transplantation. This will include looking at treatments to prevent the rejection of transplanted kidneys and to prolong their survival. The overall aim of therapy is to prevent mortality by prolonging graft survival without exposing the patient to the risks of excessive immuno-suppression or other toxicity related to the use of immuno-suppressant drugs.