South West case study – Transplant waiting list hits record high

Published On: July 9th, 2025

596 people waiting for an organ in the South West as transplant waiting list hits UK record high

Organ donor and transplant numbers remain steady in the region

NHS urges urgent public action as thousands face life-or-death wait

596 people in the South West are currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant – as it’s revealed more people than ever before are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in the UK – but donor and transplant numbers have fallen.

New figures released today (9 July) by NHS Blood and Transplant reveal the stark reality that 8,096 patients in the UK were on the active transplant waiting list as of 31 March 2025 – the highest number on record.

With a further 3,883 temporarily suspended because they are either currently unfit for transplant or temporarily unavailable – that means almost 12,000 people are living in daily uncertainty, unsure if they will get the organ they need.

Last year saw over 100 fewer deceased organ donors nationally, resulting in a 2% drop in life-saving transplants compared to the previous year. In the South West the number of deceased organ donors remained stable with 154 people donating after death compared to 155 the previous year.

The Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Activity Report shows that in the UK in 2024/25:

4,583 patients received organ transplants – 2% less than the previous year

1,403 people donated organs after death – a 7% decrease on the year before

Living donors now account for over 40% of all organ donations with 991 people donating a kidney or part of their liver

The number of cornea transplants increased by 11% offering the gift of sight to hundreds of people in the UK.

One of the patients on the transplant waiting list is Kerry Fear, from the South West. She needs a heart transplant after a lifetime of heart problems.

Everything seemed normal when Kerry Fear was born but over the next few weeks she struggled to feed and was sleepy. At 6 weeks old a GP was worried after listening to her heart and referred her to Dorchester then Southampton Hospital. Investigative surgery at nine weeks old discovered she only had three heart chambers, two holes in her heart and her two main arteries were the wrong way round.

Nothing could be done at the time but Kerry had Fontan surgery aged five to help her, a new surgery at the time. Over the next four decades Kerry had multiple open heart surgeries, pacemakers fitted and procedures to treat heart rhythm problems. The treatments started to be less effective, meaning a heart transplant is now the only option and Kerry, from Yeovil, was listed on the waiting list under the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, in May 2024.

Kerry, now aged 50, and married with a stepdaughter, says: “I’ve always got on with life and had a fairly normal life, the main thing has been not being able to be as active as I’d like, do sports.

“I have noticed my heart rhythm isn’t normal and a slow decline. I don’t feel brilliant, but I don’t feel terrible, but you can deteriorate quickly.

“I knew being listed for a transplant was coming. At first it was scary, you realise the magnitude of it, every time the phone rings you panic a bit. But as time goes on, you have to get on with life. I don’t want to miss anything or waste any time when I can do what I can at the moment.

“I’m continuing to work part time for a charity, walk my dogs when I can and enjoy family life as much as I can – my husband Nick, and his daughter Poppy, and I recently started kayaking as it is something I can do.”

Kerry, who is under Southampton Hospital for her heart conditions and the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, for her transplant, adds: “Most days I put waiting to the back of my mind. If I think about it it’s quite an odd thing – it could happen any time and I am used to surgery but this is very different. I don’t think too deeply about waiting, my transplant – I want to enjoy life now and do as much as I can, make memories.

“I have a really good support network of friends and family and I always will and always have been a positive and resilient person.

“It’s sad that there are a lot of people waiting, and a lot of them more urgently in need than me. I think I could be waiting many more years. I may need to need the transplant more urgently and that’d mean waiting in hospital and I don’t like that idea.

“From what I have seen people that donate their organs, it gives their family pride and comfort – their loved one has done something for someone else. Organ donation gives somebody else an opportunity for a different and better life.

“It’s a really positive thing and my family know I’ll donate all I can – you’re not using your organs any more when you die.

“My transplant will hopefully make a massive difference, I hope to just be able to live and do more physical activities than I have my whole life. I’ve got to 50 and I can’t run to the end of the road, my dream is to run a marathon. I’d like to be able to go on a few more holidays and not worry. A transplant would be confidence and freedom.

“I will honour my donor in the fact I will go out there and live as best a life as I can, and hopefully do something for somebody else. I’d make something of my life, I wouldn’t waste the gift.”

In the South West, 368 people received an organ transplant last year compared to 344 the year before.

Consent/authorisation rates across the UK remain stubbornly low at 59%.

Last year, a UK total of 173 families overruled their relative’s registered or expressed decision to donate.

In a further 520 cases, families did not support donation where the law presumes consent – meaning their loved one had not registered to opt out but also hadn’t expressed any decision.

Under the ‘opt-out’ system donation can still only go ahead with the family’s support, which is why it remains so important to have the conversation and leave your loved ones certain of your wishes.

And today, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, Anthony Clarkson, is urging people to take action by registering their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and having that vital conversation with loved ones.

He said:

“We are facing an incredibly concerning situation where more people than ever are waiting for transplants, but fewer donations are taking place. Tragically, someone will die today waiting for a transplant and we urgently need more people to register their decision to donate and to have these vital conversations with their families.

“Last year, 60% of people who donated after death were on the NHS Organ Donor Register, which made those conversations with families so much easier. People are far more likely to support donation when they know it’s what their relative wanted.”

Sadly, every day someone dies waiting for a transplant. Last year 463 patients died waiting, and a further 911 patients were removed from the transplant list due to deteriorating health and many of these patients would have died shortly afterwards.

Alongside urging more people to register their decision and speak to their families, the NHS is also working to modernise systems and invest in innovation to help improve outcomes and make more transplants possible.

Anthony Clarkson added:

“To truly reduce the transplant waiting list, we need to take action across all aspects of organ donation and transplantation. That means modernising the NHS Organ Donor Register, having more clarity about what the law change really means and investing in innovative technologies that preserve and treat organs to improve transplant success rates.”

To find out more, and confirm your support for organ donation, visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or use the NHS app.

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