Transplant plea from man on record waiting list

Michael Webb is one of more than 8,000 people waiting for a transplant in the UK

A man living with stage five kidney disease due to complications from type 1 diabetes has shared his story in the hope of encouraging more transplant donors to come forward.

Michael Webb, from Hartlepool, is one of more than 8,000 people in the UK currently on the active transplant waiting list, the highest recorded number ever.

He spends more than four hours on a dialysis machine three times a week while he waits for a transplant, with the average wait time about three and a half years.

As doctors described an "urgent need" for donors to register their intention, Mr Webb said: "Every time the phone rings, you're wondering is this the transplant team."

He said the needles required for his dialysis, which filters waste from the blood when the kidneys cannot perform the function, can be three inches (7.6cm) long and "really uncomfortable".

Missing even one session can be particularly dangerous, he said.

"I've had fluid overload... it's absolute torture," he said.

Mr Webb, who has been on the transplant list since February, said he previously trained as a chef but had been unable to work while undergoing treatment.

"I enjoy cooking and [would] like to go back and work in a kitchen again."

'One donor helps nine'

Specialist organ donation nurse Dominic Manning, based in Newcastle, said the transplant list was so long now that "someone will die every day waiting for an organ transplant".

NHS Blood and Transplant said there were 100 fewer deceased organ donors last year than in 2023.

Dr Anthony Clarkson said: "We urgently need more people to register their decision to donate and to have these vital conversations with their families."

Meanwhile Mr Webb hopes that sharing his story will encourage others to consider organ donation and ensure their loved ones know of their decision.

"From one person you can save and prolong and improve the quality of life of nine different people," he said.