16/05/2013

Altruistic Organ Donations Rising

So-called altruistic organ donations, living people giving organs to strangers, almost tripled in the UK last year, new figures have revealed.

Some 104 donations of organs to strangers were approved by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), compared with 38 the previous year, with altruistic donations now counting for about one in 12 of all living donations.

The figures, reported by the Guardian, also show the total number of living donations, including those to family members or friends, rose from 1,217 to 1,243 over the same time period.

"Giving someone an organ is a brave and amazing gift. To do it for someone whom you don't know is doubly so, and the huge increase in people willing to do so is incredible," Diana Warwick, chair of the HTA said.

(MH/CD)


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