The NHS is to run a large trial of an approach that could boost number of organs available for transplant, and the transplant success rate. If it works, potentially thousands of lives could be saved as the demand for transplants vastly exceeds the supply of useable organs.
The plan is to give organ donors a cheap statin after the donor is declared brainstem dead and the relatives have consented, but before their organs are removed.
The trial will involve 80 hospitals across the UK and is expected to run for four years. It is backed by a £1.3m grant from the National Institute for Health Research; will be run by NHS Blood and Transplant’s clinical trials unit; and is sponsored by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust.
Guardian report at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/19/use-of-10p-statins-in-organ-donation-could-save-thousands-of-lives.