About Transplants

Transplants transform lives

Transplants are one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine.

They involve the donation of organs from one person to another and enable about 2,700 people to take on a new lease of life in the UK every year.

Transplants are the best possible treatment for most people with organ failure.

Kidney transplants are the most commonly performed. Transplants of the heart, liver and lungs are also regularly carried out. As medicine advances, other vital organs including the pancreas and small bowel are also being used in transplants. Tissue such as corneas, heart valves, skin and bone can also be donated.

The increasing effectiveness of transplantation means that many more patients can be considered for treatment in this way. But there is a serious shortage of donors.

For some people this means waiting, sometime for years, and undergoing difficult and stressful treatment. For all too many it means they will die before a suitable organ becomes available.

Transplant NI is committed to saving or dramatically improving many more lives by increasing the number of organs available for donation.

To sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register click here