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Organs: Donors

Volume 458: debated on Tuesday 13 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to promote organ donation; and if she will make a statement. (127358)

Over 14 million people have registered on the Organ Donor Register (ODR), which represents approximately 23 per cent. of the United Kingdom population. The Department gives around £1 million yearly to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to run the ODR and to promote transplantation. The Department also provides section 64 grants to a number of charities.

Over the last five years, the Department has provided dedicated funding—over £4 million in 2006-07—through NHSBT to support a number of specific hospital based initiatives to increase organ donor rates and support transplantation

An organ donation task force is currently identifying barriers to organ donation and will report later this year on what further steps could be taken to increase organ donation rates.