Over the last five years, the Department has provided NHS Blood and Transplant dedicated funding—over £4 million in 2006-07—to support a number of specific hospital based initiatives to increase organ donor rates, including 25 living kidney donor schemes. Since 2001-02, there has been a 2 per cent. increase in kidney transplants.
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 pounds yearly to NHS Blood and Transplant to run the ODR and to promote transplantation. The Department also provides Section 64 grants to a number of charities.
In addition, 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.