To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of kidney transplants, including through increasing organ donation rates, improving family consent, supporting living donation, and maximising the use of donated kidneys.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation services in the United Kingdom.
NHSBT, working with the Department and NHS England, delivers a multi‑channel programme of activity to increase organ donation, improve family consent, and maximise the impact of both deceased and living donation. This includes:
year-round communications and engagement, combining national campaigns, digital marketing, and partnership working. High-profile moments, such as Organ Donation Week, Living Donation Week, and World Kidney Day, are supported by media activity across a variety of channels, directing audiences to trusted information and to register their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register;
partnerships, including with National Health Service organisations, charities, community, and advocacy groups, which aim to reach people at key moments through trusted channels. For example, a functionality has been introduced recently on the front page of the NHS App, making it easier for people to record, review, and share their organ donation decision as part of routine interactions with NHS services;
targeted community engagement, supported by NHSBT’s Community Grants Programme, helps improve understanding of organ donation and family consent in communities with greater transplant need or lower consent rates; and
work to maximise the use of donated kidneys, including new assessment and recovery centres, which are currently being piloted and will use machine perfusion technology to preserve and assess kidneys for longer, alongside trust utilisation strategies to help transplant centres and hospitals identify and address local barriers to using suitable organs.
Answered on 6 Jul 2026