The NHS are celebrating the 1,000th person to donate a kidney to a stranger in the country, known as ‘non-directed kidney donation’ or ‘altruistic kidney donation’.
Donating a kidney to someone you don’t know been growing in popularity in the UK for some time. In 2007/08, only 6 people donated a kidney to a stranger and only around 10 donations a year were expected. Since then, the numbers have increased dramatically. At the time of writing, between 80-110 people donate a kidney to a stranger in need every year in the UK.
However, the need for more donors is great. In the UK, more than 5,500 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Despite ongoing work to encourage donation, around six people die every week waiting for a kidney.
The news comes around the same time as the launch of this website, www.donateakidney.co.uk, which aims to raise awareness of living kidney donation of all kings and provide support for people during their donation journey. The website has been launched by Kidney Research UK, the country’s leading kidney research charity, and Give a Kidney, a charity devoted to living kidney donation, as part of the Robert Dangoor Partnership for Living Kidney Donation.
