Scotland faces organ transplant crisis

December 9, 2004

It was 40 years ago that the very first transplant operation was performed in Britain. Since then thousands of lives have been saved. But today transplant teams across the country are facing a real crisis. There is a massive shortage of organ donors and it's costing lives. As part of a new Scotland Today Campaign we want are asking our viewers to help us do something about it.

Last year 13 people died waiting for a liver transplant at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the waiting lists are even longer this year. A special programme on Scottish TV will take an in depth look at the issue through the eyes of some of the families affected. The programme will also mark the start of a new Scotland Today campaign which will run over the next ten days.

Marjory Perry suffered kidney failure four years ago. She said: "To begin with I was devastated, because you think why me, this cant be happening? And then as time goes on you realise that you are going to have to live with this."

Her best chance of recovery is a transplant but she has been on the waiting list for four years. Her story is not uncommon. More than 600 Scots are currently awaiting transplants. But because of a shortage of organs donors, many will die before their operation can take place.

Marjory Perry's husband John is now undergoing tests to see if he can donate one of his kidneys. He said: "I have no doubts about what I am getting into and I think if you asked anyone they would say exactly the same thing. Its not a question of moral obligation, I just love her."

Many transplant units around the country believe publicity surrounding celebrities such as George Best has put people off signing the organ donor register.

Twenty-eight-year-old Brian Tait has been waiting almost a year for a liver transplant. Physician Dr Ken Simpson said: "He needs a transplant now. He needed one in January. He needs it even more now and there is no stop gap unlike renal dialysis, we don't have that option in liver transplantation. You either get a liver or you die."

The reality for many people on the transplant waiting list is that not all of them will survive long enough for a donor to be found.

Scotland Today is launching the Give the Gift of Life Campaign to raise awareness of the issue and to try to encourage more of you at home to sign on to the organ donor register. Over the next days we will be hearing from families who are waiting for transplants, from people who have had them and seen their lives transformed. We will be talking live to some of the medical teams involved on the problems they face and hearing from families who have lost loved ones and made the decision to donate their organs.

Copyright © 2004 Scotland Today.

This article posted December 21, 2004.