Statement on how gender is currently requested on the NHS Organ Donor Register

We have listened to concerns about the way that gender is currently requested on the NHS Organ Donor Register. We understand that listing ‘Transgender’ as a separate option is not appropriate.

We would therefore like to apologise for this mistake and are in the process of updating the registration form for organ donation to remove this question. At NHSBT, we understand and recognise that trans men are men and trans women are women.

The purpose of the NHS Organ Donor Register is to provide a voluntary record of a person’s organ donation decision.

Although sex assigned at birth is important from a clinical perspective if organ donation becomes a possibility, this information is gathered from a patient’s medical records and history, not from the NHS Organ Donor Register.

As there is no clinical reason for a person to record their gender or sex assigned at birth when joining the NHS Organ Donor Register, we are in the process of updating the registration form in order to remove this question.

Thank you for your patience as we work to update our systems, and thank you for your effort in saving and improving lives.

Updated: 30 April 2021