Not enough people donate organs

The framework, called Saving Lives, Valuing Donors, aims to improve the quality of care given to patients.

It also aims to tackle the serious shortage of organs and tissues available for transplant.

Central to this will be efforts to get 16 million people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register by 2010.

Long waits

The number of people awaiting transplant operations far exceeds the number of available organs.

In April 2003, there were 6,025 people waiting for a transplant while 401 people died while waiting for an operation.

NHS transplant operations 297 people received heart and/or lung transplants 712 people received a liver transplant 1,775 people received a kidney transplant 10 people received a pancreas transplant 2,297 received a corneal graft Source: Saving Lives, Valuing Donors, Department of Health. Figures relate to operations carried out between April 2002 and March 2003

There were just 773 deceased donors last year. Between them, they donated 2,644 organs, including hearts, livers and kidneys.

A total of 393 living donors gave organs, such as kidneys.

A recent survey by UK Transplant found that although many people support organ donation, less than one in six have actually joined the register.

Ministers are hoping to improve the situation by getting more people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.

People can sign up to the register online or at their GP surgery.

Launching the framework, Health Minister Rosie Winterton urged people to carry a donor card.

"Organ and tissue transplantation is a major NHS success story. Many people have received a transplant of organs or tissue donated by people who are committed to help to save lives.

"I carry a donor card and have done so for many years. I would urge everyone to carry a donor card and commit themselves to helping others.

"The lives of the hundreds of people awaiting organs or tissue would change dramatically if the organs they needed were donated.

"The Transplant Framework sets out how everyone can play their part. We would like to see 16 million people on the Organ Donor Register by 2010.

"We will continue to develop a transplant service which is sensitive to the needs of donors, donor families and to the patients who receive transplant organs and which will help increase the number of transplants undertaken each year."

Sue Sutherland, chief executive of UK Transplant, welcomed the framework.

"Transplants are extremely successful and the generosity of donors and the skill of surgeons combine to save and improve many lives.

"This welcome framework gives us the way forward to increase the number of people and families who can benefit from transplant surgery."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Dr Evan Harris called on ministers to review organ donation laws.

"Many organs are lost when their owners would have wanted them to be used to save a life.

"The current system, despite the hard work of those within it, is simply not working.

"It�s time for the government to consider calls from parliament to replace the current donor opt-in system with an opt-out system.