Organ donation and registration on the increase

Health Minister Edwin Poots has today welcomed statistics from NHS Blood and Transplant highlighting an increase in organ donors and an increase in the number of people adding their name to the organ donor register.

The Minister said: “I welcome the publication of the NHS Blood and Transplant activity data for Northern Ireland, which indicates that transplants for Northern Ireland residents have increased in recent years, whilst the number of people on the active transplant waiting list is falling.

“It is also wonderful to see that 30 per cent of the Northern Ireland population have now added their name to the organ donor register. Whilst this is a huge achievement, I recognise that more still needs to be done as there are still around 200 people actively waiting for an organ transplant.”

The data also indicates that there has been a drop in the number of people actively waiting for a transplant, and an increase in the number of transplants carried out.

The Minister continued saying: “The health service is working hard to improve rates of donation but can only do so with the commitment and generosity of the people of Northern Ireland. I would encourage all those who have not already registered to discuss donation with friends and family and make the decision to join the Organ Donor Register.”