The demand for organs significantly exceeds the number of donors in the UK each year. At this very moment, there are more than 10,000 people in need of an organ transplant. Of these, approximately 1,000 people a year (or 3 people per day), will die before a necessary organ becomes available.

The UK has one of the lowest organ donor rates in the developed world. Of the 28 countries listed on the International Registry of Organ Donation and Transplantation (IORDaT), the UK was ranked 22. Meanwhile, the need for organ donors continues to rise. In the past year alone, figures show a 17% increase in the number of people waiting for a liver transplant. While public awareness campaigns have led to small increases in the number of people registered as donors over the past few years, there is still a significant shortage of organs in the UK. 

On April 28th, I--along with bio-archaelogist, Victoria York-Edwards--will be giving a detailed tour of one of the world's strangest medical museums: the Hunterian Collection at the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Spend an afternoon amongst jars of pickled human & animal remains and learn all about the 18th-century surgeon who cut them up, John Hunter. 

Tour begins at 2 pm. Please RSVP to l.a.fitzharris@qmul.ac.uk 

In lieu of an entry fee, we ask that you donate to LLTGL (Live Life then Give Life) in order to help raise awareness about the shortage of organ donors in the UK.