The organs of nearly 700 British donors have been given to foreign patients, new figures reveal.

Hundreds of British transplant organs given to foreign patients
article in the Sunday Telegraph

Extract:

"The controversial practice has seen patients from as far afield as China fly in for operations at NHS hospitals around the country.

The procedures have taken place despite a severe shortage of organs for transplant in the UK, putting British patients' lives at risk.

Nearly 8,000 people are currently on NHS waiting lists for a transplant, with 305 waiting for a liver and 226 for a lung.

Patient groups and politicians condemned the practice of making organs available to foreigners while so many British patients remain on waiting lists.

The Conservative shadow minister for health, Stephen O'Brien MP, said: "This is not about being xenophobic, but when there is such a shortage of available organs we first need to ensure that we can provide for British patients.

"Ministers must answer the serious questions at stake here. Why, when their organ donation policies are failing, have they presided over so many organs going to people living outside the UK?"

The figures, obtained by Mr O'Brien through a Parliamentary question, show that between 1998 and 2008, around 70 British organs have been transplanted into foreign nationals every year.

A total of that 603 livers have been given to foreigners over the ten year period, as well as 57 corneas, five kidneys and four hearts.

At the same time, only 140 foreign organs were imported into the UK to be transplanted into British patients.

Britain is obliged by European Union rules to make British organs available to all EU nationals. Non-EU nationals are only entitled to an organ if there are no suitable British or EU patients."