The UK's transplant system, once a world leader, has fallen behind other major Western nations, according to a BBC File on 4 Investigates report.
Jodie Cantle, a 34-year-old patient waiting for a double lung transplant, has been offered new lungs 17 times, but each operation was cancelled. She is one of 450 adult patients in the UK currently waiting for a heart or lung transplant.
The government has told the BBC it will write to the NHS demanding that it urgently implement recommendations to make transplant services "fit for the future".
Transplant Centre Issues
Harefield Hospital, where Jodie is being treated, says every decision involves "multiple, complex factors" and teams consider carefully what is right for each person.
However, surgeons point to issues with outdated technology, lack of investment, and resource problems within transplant centres. Data shows that around 100 times a year, hospitals are unable to transplant a heart or lung due to a lack of theatre space, intensive care beds, or staff.
Follow-up Care Concerns
Patients who have received transplants also face challenges with follow-up care, with five-year survival rates lagging behind the best in the world for both hearts and lungs.
Zanib, a 34-year-old who had a successful lung transplant in 2020, now needs dialysis treatment three times a week due to kidney failure. She says the system "just doesn't work for patients like me".
Expert Opinions
Surgeons and experts, including Sir Magdi Yacoub, an internationally acclaimed surgeon, believe the NHS's issues stem from a lack of investment and deprioritizing of services.
Robbie Burns, a former executive director at NHS hospitals and transplant recipient, says progress has been slow, and the improvement has been "extremely marginal".
Government Response
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the government had inherited a broken NHS and recognized the systemic issues facing cardiothoracic transplantation.
A DHSC statement said the government would work to address these issues, but a minister for transplantation, Dr Zubir Ahmed, retracted an offer to be interviewed by the BBC.
