Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Doctors 'fail to ask for organs'

Sunday 08 May 1994 18:02 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

DOCTORS often do not ask relatives of fatal accident victims to donate organs from the body, even when they carried donor cards.

Leslie Rout, director of the National Kidney Research Fund, said: 'We are not getting all the kidneys available after accidents because of the reluctance of doctors to ask. It is estimated that there are 4,000 cases of brain death in the UK each year.

'This should produce about 8,000 kidneys . . . but the reality underlines the fact that permission to remove kidneys is not being asked of all relatives.'

A spokesman for the fund said that more than 1,000 people die each year waiting for kidney transplants.

A seven-month-old baby boy was 'satisfactory' in hospital last night after a surgeon at the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital was reported to have removed the wrong kidney, leaving a diseased one in his body.

An internal inquiry is now underway and results are expected today.

Although rare, such mistakes have been made before.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in