57 Cumbrians on transplant waiting list

By Pamela McGowan Health reporter

Last updated 13:41, Monday, 07 July 2008

Fifty-seven people in Cumbria need life saving transplant surgery.

Transplant list: Baby Theo Giles Davies

Last year, three Cumbrians died while waiting for vital transplant operations.

The new figures, released to coincide with National Transplant Week, highlight the need for more people in the county to sign up as donors.

Of the 57 on the waiting list today, 52 are in need of kidney transplants, two need new hearts, two need lungs and one person needs a liver.

Many of these people – who range from tiny babies to pensioners – will not live if they do not receive a transplant.

Yet at present less than a quarter, 123,358 people, of the county’s 500,000-plus population have signed up to the organ donor register.

This means that, in the event of their death, their organs can be used to help others.

National charity UK Transplant said the figures show there is a real need for more donors to help prevent further unnecessary deaths.

The three Cumbrians who died last year lost their lives while waiting for a suitable donor.

Yet thanks to kindhearted individuals who donated their organs, a further 26 people are still here.

Of these people, 17 received kidney transplants, one a kidney and pancreas, two had heart transplants, one received a lung, another received a heart and a lung and four had liver transplants.

Another 22 people had their sight restored or improved thanks to donated corneas.

A spokesman for UK Transplant said: “Organ transplantation is one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine.

“But they depend entirely on the generosity of donors and their families who are willing to make this life-saving gift to others.

“Transplantation is highly successful and is, increasingly, the only treatment for many illnesses. For many patients, a donated organ makes the difference between life and death. But the biggest threat to transplantation today is the shortage of donors.

Across the UK there are around 9,000 patients waiting for organ transplants and up to 1,000 people die each year while waiting for donors.

“Medical advances mean remarkable procedures such as liver and heart transplants are now commonplace, allowing people to live normal lives through the gift of donation,” the spokesman added.

“A single donor can give the gift of life to several people and restore the sight of two more.”