Surgeons performing an operation

From the Heart: A Tonight Special

In a one hour special the Tonight programme investigates the lives of the 10,000 Brits on waiting lists for an organ transplant.

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'From The Heart' focus on medical technology

In the latest in ITV News' series of reports, From The Heart focuses on the extraordinary medical technology that keeps patients alive - while they wait for the heart transplant they so desperately need.

As ITV News' medical editor Lawrence McGinty reports from Papworth Hospital, the shortage of donors means that it is sometimes a long wait:

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Alexandra Burke tells of mother's wait for kidney donor

As part of the ITV1 special 'From the Heart' X Factor winner Alexandra Burke described how her family kept her mother's illness from her during the 2008 final of the X Factor.

Alexandra's mother Melissa needs a kidney transplant, and spends 8 hours a day on a dialysis machine, as she waits for one.

The severe shortage of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic organ donors mean that donors from these communities have to wait three times longer to get the transplant they need.

Join the organ donor register here.

More: Donor shortage means ethnic minority groups have to wait longer for transplants

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NHS organ donor website 'overwhelmed'

The NHS website where people can register to be organ donors is experiencing difficulties due to an "overwhelming demand" from people watching the ITV 'From the Heart' Tonight special.

Half of population say organ donation is family decision

Half of the population believe the family should always have the final say on whether a relative's organs are donated, according to the latest poll conducted by ComRes for ITV News.

  • 49% think the family should always have the final say on whether or not their relative's organs are donated.
  • 38% disagree that the family should always have final say on the matter.
  • 13% aren't sure.
  • 47% think that after the death of a loved one, it should be assumed that organs will be donated, unless the family have an objection.
  • Men are more likely than women to agree that the family should always have the final say: 52% versus 45%

ComRes surveyed 2,055 people in total.

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