Organ donation: nursing roles and responsibilities

Organ donation and transplantation saves the lives of thousands of people every year, and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for the support, facilitation and safe delivery of organs and tissues for transplantation. The organisation also manages the NHS Organ Donor Register and National Transplant Register, which record individuals' wishes regarding organ donation and which hold the details of people waiting for a transplant.

There are currently around 6000 people on the UK transplant waiting list, and there is an acute shortage of donors and organs for transplant. This means that last year more than 400 people died while waiting for a transplant, equivalent to around three people every day.

The NHSBT's organ donation services teams are the front-line staff who manage organ donation on a daily basis. The UK is divided into a total of 12 regional teams providing a 24-hour service to support and facilitate organ donation. The teams consist of operational managers and specialist nurses working in hospitals alongside allocated clinical leads for organ donation and local hospital committees. Together, they are tasked with ensuring that every opportunity for organ donation is fully explored and considered.