§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what authority controls the matching of donated organs with potential transplant recipients in the(a) NHS and (b) private sector.[164863]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonIt is the responsibility of UK Transplant, a special health authority based in Bristol, to match and allocate organs from deceased donors to suitable patients on the national transplant list, whether national health service or private, according to allocation rules agreed by national organ advisory committees.
It is the responsibility of local transplant centers or clinicians working in private practice to assess the suitability of a potential live organ donor and obtain approval from the Unrelated Live Transplant Regulatory Authority if required.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what protocols govern the selection of recipients of donated organs for transplant in the(a) NHS and (b) private sector. [164870]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe rules for allocating organs are publicly available on the UK Transplant website at www.uktransplant.co.uk. They are regularly reviewed by the medical profession in consultation with other health professionals, the Department and advisory groups. The system of allocation differs according to the type of organ; whether it is a heart, lung, kidney, liver or cornea, but there are some overall guiding principles which ensure as far as possible proper matching of organs to patients and equality of access to the organ available. All eligible patients, whether national health service or private, have to be registered on the relevant national transplant list and will be allocated a suitable organ when one becomes available.