100 died waiting for transplant

4 September 2017, 07:08

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72 people in Berkshire and 59 in Oxfordshire are waiting for a transplant at the moment.

54 People in Berkshire and 48 in Oxfordshire have died waiting for a transplant in the last decade because families weren't sure if their loved ones wanted to donate their organs.

NHS Blood and Transplant revealed the tragic number of deaths to mark Organ Donation Week which starts today and is now urging people to tell their families they want to become donors.

Hundreds of life saving transplants are being missed every year because families don’t know what their relative wanted. Left to make the decision for someone they love, families often decide it is safer to say no.

The reluctance to talk about the issue is contributing to a deadly shortage of organs. 


Anthony Clarkson, Assistant Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “It’s a tragedy that people are dying unnecessarily every year in Berkshire waiting for transplants.






NHS Blood and Transplant surveys show more than 80% of people support organ donation but only around 49% of people have ever talked about it. Research shows that women are 30% more likely to start a conversation about organ donation than men.


NHS Blood and Transplant wants everyone in Berkshire and Oxfordshire to be able to save lives through organ donation and not be prevented from doing so because they have not told a relative their decision.