Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation
The Department of Health and Social Care have established an Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation (ISOU).
On this page
Aims of the group
The ISOU will oversee and co-ordinate the implementation of the recommendations set out in the Organ Utilisation Group (OUG) report – Honouring the Gift of Donation: utilising organs for transplant – which was launched on 21 February 2023.
The ISOU has been established with a remit to:
- Bring together those with a role in leading implementation of the OUG recommendations
- Prioritise and align implementation activity
- Provide updates on progress, including to Ministers
- Monitor implementation activity
- Identify and address issues with implementation
ISOU is co-chaired by a senior DHSC official and an independent senior clinical leader in the field of transplantation. It brings together the organisations with a leading role in delivering the OUG recommendations and includes patient and lay representation, as well as representation from the devolved governments.
The ISOU will bring together the key organisations involved in delivering the transplant service, to increase collaboration and ensure that all patients have fair and equitable access to transplant services, regardless of their background, ethnicity or where they live.
The first meeting of ISOU took place on 18 April 2023.
The challenge
There have been significant improvements in organ donation, with deceased donor numbers increasing by 95% since 2008. While there have also been improvements in the transplant rate, this has not kept pace with the increase in donation.
In recent years, the waiting list has started to rise again, meaning that the shortfall in the availability of organs for transplant is worsening. Between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022, 429 people died while on the transplant waiting list. A further 644 people were removed from the waiting list due to deteriorating health – these patients could no longer safely receive a transplant. Sadly, many of these patients would have died after being removed from the list.
Much of the increase in the waiting list can be explained by the increasing age and co-morbidities of deceased donors, meaning that organs are harder to successfully transplant. However, other countries experience similar difficulties, but sustain higher transplant rates than those in the UK, with no worse outcomes for patients. There is also significant variation between UK transplant centres regarding what organs they are willing to accept for transplant.
It is clear that more can and needs to be done to fully honour the gift of donation and support transplant teams. This is needed to ensure that all organs that are safe for transplant are used to save the lives of those on the waiting list.
The ISOU will bring together the key organisations involved in delivering the transplant service, to increase collaboration and ensure that all patients have fair and equitable access to transplant services, regardless of their background, ethnicity or where they live.
Membership
The number of members on the ISOU has been limited to retain focus and drive.
Building on the experience of the OUG, an ISOU Stakeholder Forum will be established with patient and clinical Co-Chairs. The ISOU Stakeholder Forum will support ISOU’s work and ensure key stakeholders - including patients and clinicians – are able to steer the implementation activities and remain engaged as the work progresses.
Reflecting the breadth of the OUG recommendations and the need to draw in expertise from a wide variety of perspectives, the ISOU will also create a series of subgroups to support implementation. The subgroups will work alongside existing expert/advisory groups and report into the main ISOU. They will help to commence work in some of the more complex areas that require collaborative input from across the organ donation and transplant community.