Donor cards were introduced in the UK, just for kidneys, in 1971. And the system was first computerised in 1994, after a tireless campaign by John and Rosemary Cox, whose 24-year-old son Peter died in 1989 following a brain tumour.<\/p>\n
But despite huge strides in awareness, easier-than-ever methods of joining, and the fact that any person of any age, race or gender can donate, according to the NHSBT<\/a> less than a third of the country (around 18 million people) are on it.<\/p>\n The demographic groups with the lowest take-up are black and Asian communities<\/a>, who the NHSBT (NHS Blood and Transplant)<\/strong> say account for less than two per cent of the register.<\/p>\n There have been concrete efforts to swell the register numbers. For instance, since summer 2011, anyone applying for a driving licence<\/a> is obliged to answer a question about joining.<\/p>\n But debate still rages. Late last year a furore arose about whether the NHS should pay for the funerals of donors<\/a>.\u00a0In a recent report<\/a>, the British Medical Association put forward a proposal that patients be kept alive solely to become organ donors. And earlier this month, NHSBT held its first-ever National Organ Donation Congress<\/a>, bringing together experts to discuss medical advances and identify how best to deliver a 50 per cent increase in UK organ donation by 2013.<\/p>\n A constant theme throughout these ethical discussions is the example set by Spain<\/a>, which has the highest donation rates in the world.<\/p>\n Perhaps because buoyant numbers are so absolutely vital to the NHSBT, its website is brimming with fascinating statistical nuggets<\/a>. But, based on the details people provide when they join the register, I\u2019ve asked for some even meatier data via a Freedom of Information request<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I hope to identify some themes, some patterns and maybe even some gaps, in the register. Plus I\u2019m in the process of finding case studies to humanise what I find.<\/p>\n I look forward to reporting back!<\/p>\n And you can find me on Twitter here<\/a><\/p>\n Data journalism is all about pure facts and figures but you need a vested emotional interest in the information in order to bring it alive. For various reasons, the donor register is something I\u2019ve been curious about for a while. … Continue reading ![\"Post](\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/health\/wp-content\/plugins\/tweet-this\/icons\/en\/twitter\/tt-twitter.png\")
<\/a> Tweet This Post<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"