Dancer who had life-saving surgery pleads for donations as crisis hits NHS
Urgent warning issued as NHS pleads for vital organ donations
- NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) confirmed it could not fulfil approximately one in five (20 per cent) hospital requests for heart valves last year due to a significant shortage.
- Heart valve donations have sharply declined, plummeting from 600 in 2021 to just 368 in 2024, with officials warning the deficit is continuing this year.
- Heart valve replacements are crucial for patients, including adults with narrowing or leaking valves and children with genetic heart disorders.
- Poppy Wilson, 21, shared her life-changing experience after receiving a heart valve replacement for congenital heart disease, expressing immense gratitude to her donor.
- NHSBT is urging the public to support tissue donation via the NHS Organ Donor Register, highlighting that the decline is partly due to an overall fall in donations and more people dying at home where donation is not possible.