Polycystic Kidney Disease: Transplant Surgery

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation services in the United Kingdom, including management of the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) and the transplant waiting list.

NHSBT is working to reduce the kidney transplant waiting list, including for patients with polycystic kidney disease, by promoting living donation and ODR registration, as well as taking action to increase donation consent rates. Current activity includes: high profile year-round campaigns including Living Donation Week, Organ Donation Week, and World Kidney Day, in partnership with a wide range of charities and community groups; year-round national and regional media and public relations, focusing particularly on the need for more Black and Asian organ donors to reduce current inequities in access to transplants; and funding Community Grants Programmes and partnering with trusted community organisations to support leaders with expertise in organ donation in delivering culturally and religiously sensitive messaging.

The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, formed jointly between NHSBT and the Department, recently published recommendations to improve organ donation consent rates, increase societal action for organ donation, and increase the pool of potential donors in its report published on 21 January 2026. The report is available at the following link:

https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/38066/odjwg-report.pdf