More people are waiting for a heart transplant than ever before as the waiting list tops 300 for the first time.
As of last Thursday there were 313 patients on hold for a new heart – up from 295 at the end of March.
It is nearly a three-fold rise from 120 a decade ago. Last year 21 died waiting for a heart, making a total toll of 201 in the last five years. From next spring organ donation will be on an opt-out basis, increasing the number available after years of campaigning by the Daily Mirror.
But for now the wait goes on for patients such as Lyndsey Fitzpatrick, 34, of Wirral, Cheshire, who joined the list three years ago.
She said: “I’m still waiting for that all-important phone call. I know it’s hard to talk about organ donation but for me and many others waiting for a heart, that conversation could save our lives.”
Anthony Clarkson of NHS Blood and Transplant said: “We want to help as many people as possible so we urge everyone to think about organ donation and share your decision with your family.”
Care Minister Caroline Dinenage said: “The number of people in need of a new heart keeps growing.”
Britain’s first successful heart transplant was performed 40 years ago, in August 1979, by Sir Terence English at Papworth Hospital Cambs. Patient Keith Castle was 52 and lived for more than five years after the surgery.
