50,000 in Britain survive with transplanted organs

The number of people still alive in Britain after receiving transplanted organs has exceed 50,000 for the first time, figures revealed Tuesday.

NHS Blood and Transplant said in its annual report for 2017 that 36,300 people received transplanted kidneys, 9,800 liver transplants were performed as well as 3,900 heart or lung transplants. Almost 2,000 received transplanted pancreas and 1,000 transplanted intestines.

The agency said the number of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register has also reached a record number, 23.6 million, up by 4.9 million over five years. It means 36 percent of the British population is on the donor register, compared to 30 percent five years ago.

"The milestone figure has been reached thanks to record levels of public support for organ donation and improvements in survival rates," said a spokeswoman for NHS Blood and Transplant.

In the past year the number of people receiving a transplant in a single year has reached the record figure of 4,753, an increase of 20 percent in the last five years.

Survival rates for recipients of transplanted organs has continued to improve in Britain.

An adult receiving the most common type of kidney transplant during the early 1990s had a 66 percent chance it would still be functioning after five years. The new report shows adults who receiving the same type of transplant five years ago have an 87 percent chance their kidney is still functioning today.

The report cited the story of Julie Melady, 47, from Lincolnshire who had a lifesaving liver transplant 32 years ago at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for hepatitis when she was aged just 15. Now working as a mortgage and protection advisor, she went on marry and have two children, Billy, 10, and Jasmine, who is the same age as Julie Melady when she had her transplant, 15.

Melady commented: "Someone lost their child but they made the decision that saved my life. That gave me the chance to go on and have children - my donor didn't just save one life, they produced another two."

Last year 457 people died while waiting for a transplant and a further 875 people were removed from the list, mainly because they were too ill to undergo transplant surgery. There are still around 6,400 people currently waiting for a transplant in Britain.

Sally Johnson, director at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "It's amazing to picture all the people now alive today thanks to organ donation. However around three people still die a day in need of a transplant."