Staying Alive

Transplant organs used to come from young people who died in road traffic accidents. But thanks to better road safety, there is now a massive shortage of kidneys, livers, lungs and hearts for transplant. As a result, three people in the UK die every day waiting for a transplant, and 10,000 currently sit on the Transplant Waiting List. With the system in crisis, this series has exclusive access to Scotland's entire transplant service. This film tells the story of how medics are finding new ways to get round the shortage of organs - by using marginal organs, innovative organ 'chains' and hugely expensive new drugs.