Health Secretary Alan Johnson has today announced a review of organ transplant rules amid concerns that European Union nationals are jumping the queue in UK hospitals.
Launching the review which will be led by Elisabeth Buggins, the former chair of the Organ Donation Taskforce, Mr Johnson said:
"We are aware that some people resident in other countries within the European Union needing transplants are being referred to the UK. This had led to accusations of priority being given to non-UK patients.
"We want to optimise the availability of organs for transplant for NHS patients and ensure public confidence in the fairness and transparency of the organ allocation system in the UK. I have asked Elisabeth Buggins to lead this review to examine policy and practice within the framework of European law, on the use of organs from UK deceased donors."
A record 8,000 people in the UK are awaiting a transplant with 325 needing a new liver. Reports vary as to the numbers of UK donated organs given to EU citizens. EU law states that where there is no access to a national transplant program patients have the same rights to organs as Britons, however not all NHS transplant centres adhere to the rule.
The department of health says an unspecified number of organs from UK deceased donors are transplanted into non-UK resident EU nationals each year.
The review will:
- Provide clarity to the transplant community and enable individual transplant centres to review or agree their policies in relation to this area of healthcare and to ensure that the needs of UK patients are met within the framework of European law
- Enable the UK to feed in the Taskforce findings to any work taken forward by the European Commission as part of the implementation of the Organ Donation Action Plan published 8 December 2008
- Reassure the public about the integrity of the UK transplant programme
- It will report findings to the department of health by June 2009.
Elisabeth Buggins said: "I am happy to lead this review. I recognise that this is a complex and sensitive area. It is important to be able to build the confidence of the public in the integrity of the systems that determine how precious donated organs are allocated to individual patients, and to provide clear guidance to the transplant community."