Over 1,500 East Midlanders await an organ transplant, but the region is least likely to be home to donors

Lung transplant patient Matthew Smith

Over 1,500 (1,544) people in the Midlands are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant – but the number of people in the area who have registered an organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) is one of the lowest in the country.

Just 36% of people in the Midlands have formally expressed their decision to be a donor by registering on the ODR - proportionally, the second lowest rate in the country and below the England average of 40%.

Despite the change in the law meaning it is assumed people will be donors unless they have opted out, families are still involved in the conversations about donation, making the final decision on whether it can go ahead.

Statistics show that families are significantly more likely to support their loved one’s decision to be a donor when they have expressed their decision, so it’s vitally important for people who want to donate their organs to express that decision on the ODR.  In the Midlands, only just over half (55%) of the families consulted on donation when their loved one dies support it going ahead, the third lowest consent rate in England.

In the last year (2024/2025), 64 people from the Midlands have died while waiting for an organ transplant and 703 people in the area have died waiting in the last decade (2015-2025).

Matthew Smith, 53, received a life-saving double lung transplant earlier this year, after 10 months on the waiting list and 18 months on oxygen, as a result of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. He said: “I feel extremely lucky that a family decided to donate when they did and that they have given me a second chance at life because my wife and I truly thought that she would be losing me this year and that is something really difficult to come to terms with.

“The wait for a transplant is awful. You feel in limbo, there’s nothing you can do and you also can’t live your life in the way you want to. The harsh reality is that you are waiting for somebody to die and that’s really difficult.

“Although I only had my transplant a short while ago and I’m still in recovery, I’m already feeling the benefits of the tremendous gift I’ve been given by my donor. I can now breathe without an oxygen tank, which is the strangest sensation but so liberating. I’m beginning to feel that my dream of being able to go back to somewhat normal life might be within reach. I’ll be able to spend more time with my children and grandchildren, I might one day be able to go abroad with my wife again, do all of those things that we take for granted. I want to carry my donor’s legacy on by living the best life that I can.

“Organ donation is the most incredible gift. If more people registered their decision and left their families certain about what they want when they die, more people like me would benefit from these gifts, too. I’d encourage all of the people of the Midlands to think about what they might want and to register that decision formally on the Organ Donor Register. It takes no time at all and can have a huge impact.”

Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “I’m extremely pleased to hear that Matthew got the transplant he needed, thanks to a family who made the most generous of decisions during a very difficult time. We cannot send enough thanks to this family – and the many like them – and I wish Matthew well in his recovery.

“The sad reality is that throughout the Midlands, there are over 1,500 people still waiting for that call and sadly, we just don’t have enough donors to get everybody the transplant that they need.  

“We can change that if more people consider their wishes around organ donation and then register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. By doing so, you’ll leave your family in no doubt about what it is you want and you could save up to nine lives.”  

To find out more, and to register an organ and tissue donation decision, visit organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 or use the NHS app.