Donors who don't
From Mr Timothy F. Statham Sir: Simon Hinde's article ('Another kidney., 19 April) brought a breath of fresh
air to a subject steeped in cant and hypocrisy. No one wants to see a black market developing between those desperate for a transplanted kidney and those so stricken by poverty that their only choice is to sell parts of their body, but that is exactly what is happening. The current procedure and laws for transplantation are failing, and as a result more than 400 kidney patients on the waiting-list will die this year alone; many more will not even reach the waiting-list system.
In the UK only 5,000 are on the list and of those only 1,800 will receive transplants each year. This is not because of a shortage of donor organs, it is a result of the lethargy within the NHS. Ten million people have added their names to the organdonor register and carry a donor card, yet hospitals rarely, if ever, ring up to find out whether someone has registered.
In the United Kingdom, to be a donor requires you to die in the arms of a transplant surgeon (there are only about 100), clutching your donor card between your teeth.
Tim Statham Chief Executive, National Kidney Federation (UK), Worksop, Nottinghamshire
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