Organ donation in the United Kingdom (UK) - Statistics & Facts

Organ donation is the act of donating organs to another individual either whilst living or after death. Until recently, the organ donation system in the United Kingdom was voluntary, meaning consent was not presumed. The proportion of the population ‘opting-in’ to the organ donation register has gradually increased, to 43 percent of the UK population as of March 2023.

Organ donation law in the UK

The law surrounding organ donation consent was different across the countries of the UK until recently. In England and Wales there already was ‘deemed consent’ where a person is considered an organ donor unless they opt out since 2020. Similar ‘opt out’ legislation came into force in Scotland during 2021, while the law in Northern Ireland moved to this in 2023. The number of individuals on the organ donation register in the UK increased to 28.6 million in 2023. In the UK, individuals must indicate whether they want to be on the organ donation register when applying for a driver’s license, this source of registration accounts for almost three-quarters percent of all organ donation registrations.

Increased number of transplants

There were over 3.5 thousand organ transplantations in 2022/23. The number of transplants were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have rebounded since then. There were approximately 6.7 thousand potential donors on the register, of which only 1.4 thousand were actual donors. The average number of organs retrieved per adult donor amounted to 3.2 organs across the UK. Kidneys top the list as the most transplanted organ in the UK at approximately 47 transplant procedures per million population. There were around nine thousand patients active on the kidney donation waiting list in 2022. Despite the growing number of registrants on the organ transplant register, around 12 percent are not prepared to donate their corneas.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jun 24, 2024

Key insights

Number of living organ donors in the UK in 2022/23
958
Number of deceased donors in the UK in 2022/23
1429
In 2022/23 organ donation rate was the highest in Northern Ireland
30 pmp
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Current statistics on this topic

Rate of deceased organ donors in select countries in 2022 (per million population)

State of Health

Deceased organ donor rate in selected countries 2022

Rate of patients with transplanted organs in selected countries in 2022 (per million population)

State of Health

Global number of patients with organs transplanted in selected countries 2022

Total number of patients on transplant list in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2010 to 2024

Prevention

Number of patients on organ transplant list in the United Kingdom (UK) 2010-2024

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Overview

6

Overview

Donors in the UK

6

Donors in the UK

Donors by demographics

6

Donors by demographics

Organ transplant list

9

Organ transplant list

Deceased organ donors

6

Deceased organ donors

Organ transplants

7

Organ transplants

Further reports

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National Health Service (NHS) in the UK
National Health Service (NHS) in the UK
Organ donation in the United Kingdom (UK)
Organ donation in the United Kingdom (UK)
Organ transplantation in Europe
Organ transplantation in Europe

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