Nine individuals who donated their organs after death have saved the lives of 26 people last year, Bradford Teaching Hospitals announced today.

The nine donors represent an increase of 90% in deceased donation since the beginning of 2010, when the Foundation Trust announced its campaign to increase donation from Bradford Royal Infirmary.

"Thanks to the altruism of donors and their families in Bradford, a record number of organs have been made available for transplantation since June  last year (2010) and a record number of peoples' lives have been saved or improved as a result,” said Dr Paul Cramp, the clinical donation champion and Intensive Care Unit (ICU)  consultant.

Today's announcement comes one year after the Trust announced its initiative to increase donation – especially from within the south Asian community in Bradford - following the news that the hospital had only had seven donations in the previous five years.

“The increased rate shows that the initiative has been a remarkable success and that people, both here in the hospital and in the community, are serious about organ donation,” added Dr Cramp.

“The fact that 26 lives have been saved is quite incredible and should act as a living legacy to those people who have so generously donated their organs.

"Moving forward, we are committed to making organ donation usual rather than unusual in Bradford and we will continue our work to increase donation rates in order to help save more lives and stop avoidable deaths of patients awaiting an organ transplant.”

In Bradford today there is still an urgent need for organs as currently 71 people are waiting for a transplant.

• 59 are waiting for a kidney
• One person is waiting for a heart
• 8 people are waiting for a liver
• Two people are waiting for lungs
• One person is waiting for a kidney & pancreas

However, there is still a great need for donors from the Asian community, despite there being a higher rate of lives donations (between relatives and siblings) within this community.

At this year’s Bradford Mela, the BRI team, who attended the event for the first time, were delighted when more than 30 people signed up to the organ donation register online.

Consultant physician, Jahangir Rehman stated: “I’d encourage the local community to continue to see the value that organ donation can bring especially in a city where there is a great need for transplantation.

“Asian people are four times more likely to need a kidney transplant but less likely to get one because of problems with blood groups and tissue type.

“If the organ comes from an Asian donor there is a better chance of success so I would appeal to people in the Asian community to consider joining the organ donor register today, discuss it openly with your family so they can fulfill your wishes when you die.”

The BRI’s Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation, Jayne Fisher, works alongside the intensive care consultants and the hospital’s donation committee to champion donations and streamline the pathways of potential donors. Her work ensures that more people have their decision to donate fulfilled and more lives are saved through transplantation.

"The rise in organ donor numbers in Bradford is a tribute to the generosity of the donors and their families, and they deserve our sincere thanks. The need for more transplants remains – especially from within our south Asian community - and I hope that the developments over the past year will allow progress to be maintained through the coming year."

Around 90% of people in the UK believe in organ donation and would wish to receive a life-saving transplant should they become ill.

Forty four people from the Bradford area received a major organ in 2010/11 while a further 47 received a cornea transplant, new figures for the district have revealed.

Jayne continued: “Donation is a personal choice, and no one would criticize a family for saying no but I have witnessed the positive effect that donation has for a bereaved family so many times.
"Getting people to sign up to the register is only half the battle. In order to see that their wishes are carried out in the event of their deaths, it is essential that those who want to become donors discuss donation with family and friends."
At least three people in the UK die needlessly every day through lack of a suitable donor organ.