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The impact of the pandemic on kidney patients’ prospects of a transplant has been highlighted in the annual activity report released this week by the National Health Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBT).
With transplant operations temporarily suspended in a number of centres in the last year and major disruption to the service, it is perhaps unsurprising that fewer people were able to receive the transplants they so desperately needed.
What is concerning is the scale of the fallout.
The report shows the total number of people who received kidney transplants in the last year fell from 2,466 to 1,931 compared to the previous year, a 22% drop.
The necessary suspension of the Living Kidney Donor Sharing Scheme – where someone donates a kidney to a stranger in lieu of a loved one needing one, who then receives a kidney from another person involved in the scheme to help their family member or friend – formed a huge part of this. The strength of the scheme lies in its lack of geographical borders so that people throughout the UK can benefit. But the chain effect came undone when some centres had to close and surgeons were forced to make difficult decisions about when it was appropriate to carry out the surgery.
Some patients chose not to be transplanted, despite it being the better option, because they were fearful of leaving their homes and undergoing surgery at a time of such uncertainty.
Some patients on the waiting list regrettably had no choice and lost their lives to Covid-19, or to the consequences of living with long-term kidney failure.
“Hearing that 22% fewer people received life-saving kidney transplants last year is deeply saddening,” said Dr Aisling McMahon. “We estimate that there could be over 5,500 people in need of a kidney transplant in the UK, that’s an additional 570 people compared with the same time the previous year.
“Research projects we are funding are set to help make more kidneys available for transplant and more transplants successful in years to come. But there is a clear, immediate need for the Government to prioritise supporting the NHS to address the backlog of patient referrals and reactivate more patients on the waiting list and ensure more kidney patients don’t become the long-term victims of the pandemic.”
charitytoday.co.uk | 16 July 2021
BBC Children in Need has announced its fundraising total for its 2020 Appeal, £57million.
In a year that has left lasting effects on the lives of children and young people facing disadvantage across the UK, the charity said that the incredible total would not have been possible without the public once again coming together to help raise money at a time when it was needed most.
BBC Children in Need exists to ensure that every child or young person can thrive and be the best they can be and aims to achieve this by helping them overcome any challenges they may be facing. Thanks to the generosity of the British public, during the pandemic BBC Children in Need has awarded 2,700 grants to a value of £73million to support local charities and projects addressing a range of issues affecting children and young people.
This includes £35.1m in funding to address the impact of sustained isolation on emotional wellbeing and mental health, £18.7m in grants to support those facing increased financial uncertainty, £1.9m in awards to help bereaved children and young people come to terms with their loss, £11.8m in grants to support disabled children and young people and £9.8m in funding to help keep children and young people safe from harm. In addition, since the beginning of the pandemic, BBC Children in Need has dedicated over £3m of funding specifically to address digital exclusion, supplying devices such as laptops or tablets to families who would not otherwise be able to afford or access these items and supporting them to get online through broadband or data allowances.
The 2020 November Appeal total grew to £57million as donations and fundraising income continued to pour in following the BBC Children in Need’s 2020 Appeal show last November, culminating with an on-the-night total of £37million.
Highlights from the 2020 Appeal include Joe Wicks MBE’s epic 24-hour non-stop PE challenge with BBC Radio 2, which raised a spectacular £2.5millon, contributing to BBC Radio 2’s overall total of £2.8 million, Countryfile’s 2020 calendar and Ramble special, which raised an incredible £5.6million, DIY SOS’ big build special, which raised a whopping £1.3million and The One Show’s Rickshaw Challenge, which raised a remarkable £6million.
Elsewhere, BBC TV and radio stations across the Nations and Regions threw themselves into fundraising, whilst the charity’s corporate partners, once again galvanised customers and staff to help make a difference to young lives. And of course, hundreds and thousands of fundraisers across the UK came together to support the charity in many different ways, including thousands of schools that got together to support children and young people facing disadvantages.
Speaking of the 2020 total, Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need, said:
“Our supporters across the UK can be incredibly proud of this total and the vital impact it’s making. After a year of immense challenge and uncertainty for children and young people facing disadvantage, this is a testament to the kindness and generosity of the Great British public that over the course of the pandemic, we have delivered £73million to help children and young people navigate through the challenges of COVID-19, providing a lifeline when it was needed most. Our incredible supporters have shown once again that together, we can change young lives and that we will always be here for the children and young people across the UK that need us. Thank you.”
For more information about BBC Children in Need, please visit: bbcchildreninneed.co.uk.
charitytoday.co.uk | 16 July 2021
SOUTH West’s food redistribution charity, FareShare South West, has revealed that they scaled their operations by six times from March 2020 – March 2021, delivering more food to frontline charities, schools and community groups across the South West region than ever before in the charity’s history.
The publication of FareShare South West’s annual impact report revealed that they redistributed enough food for a staggering 6.1 million meals in just a 12 month period. Much of the uplift in operations was as a result of the charity’s emergency food provision at key crisis points in the pandemic year, including their FoodStock 2020 campaign, which ran from November 2020 to March 2021, providing food at scale to frontline organisations, as well as ready-packed food parcels for smaller projects and initiatives.
CEO of FareShare South West, Julian Mines, said:
“The pandemic laid bare and exacerbated the issue of food poverty that we face here in the UK. In the early days of the pandemic, the need for food support soared, and our frontline partners – though having to operate in very different ways – saw huge demand for their services and an increased need to support users with food provisions. Though the health crisis may have abated, for now, food insecurity is still a daily reality for thousands of individuals and families across our region.
“Stepping up to deliver at this scale across the past year has not been without its challenges and has taken sleepless nights, hundreds of committed volunteers, a supportive community and a staff team I am so proud of. From launching emergency warehouses in Ashton Gate football stadium and bed depots to overhauling entire processes and establishing new partnerships with frontline charities in need of our food, the effort has been monumental. More importantly, the impact has been monumental. We’ve worked with 416 frontline charities, schools and community groups, and we estimate that our redistribution has saved our partners £5million in average retail value, with over 50,000 people benefitting from the food.”
The impact report also revealed that the redistribution of surplus food in 2020-2021 avoided 2,985 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
Julian Mines continued:
“With the emergency operations now over, we’re working hard to maintain high levels of food redistribution across the South West. We are determined to continue to be a safety net for this region. This will rely on securing more partnerships with local food businesses looking for ways to deal with their surplus that is good for both people and the planet. It will also mean further investment into our infrastructure, including new chiller vans, covering increased fuel costs and most exciting of all a new warehouse location in South Bristol.”
To read the full impact report and understand more about the work of FareShare South West across 2020-2021, please visit: https://faresharesouthwest.org.uk/our-impact-2020/
Local food businesses who want to discuss redistributing their surplus food should contact
charitytoday.co.uk | 9 June 2021