NHS Greater Glasgow dismisses lowest kidney donation rate study A study which found Glasgow has the lowest rate of kidney donation in the UK has been rejected as "unhelpful and disruptive" by health bosses. The study published on Monday claimed there are "striking" geographical variations in the numbers of people who donate kidneys after they die. Cambridge University and NHS Blood and Transplant were behind the report that stated Glasgow had the lowest donation rate and Cardiff the highest. However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board has issued a response to the publication, which it stated is based on out of date information and is misleading in its geographical breakdown of the west of Scotland. Marc Clancy, consultant transplant surgeon and lead director for NHS Greater Glasgow's transplantation division, said: "It is deeply disappointing that this out-of-date report is being portrayed as reflective of the current status of kidney donation within Glasgow. "At a most basic level the report is misleading in that it refers to data drawn from intensive care units from across the whole of the West of Scotland as being "Glasgow" specific. However of greater concern is that fact that the data, drawn from a single point in time more than two years ago, fails to reflect the significant increase in donor rates that has been achieved across the West of Scotland - from ICUs from Dumfries to Fort William - over the past two years. He added: "Furthermore the figures quoted in the report are in no way whatsoever a reflection of the West of Scotland Renal Transplant Unit based in Glasgow which has increased transplant numbers way above most other UK transplant units. This improved picture is part of nationwide Scottish success story which has seen deceased donation rates by over 74% since 2008 compared to UK wide increase of 50%. Given the vast increase in donation rates achieved in Scotland in the past two years the publication of this out-of-date report is deeply unhelpful and disruptive to those who have worked tirelessly to drive donation rates up to unprecedented levels in Scotland. Across the West of Scotland every hospital has its own clinical lead for organ donation and all of our teams are working hard to implement the donation and transplantation plan for Scotland launch earlier this year which includes continue to work with BME communities, making sure that every donation counts and ensuring the public in Scotland is informed and engaged about transplantation. The study, published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, found that in Glasgow and Manchester there were "significantly lower" donation rates, with 3.2% and 4.5% respectively. Around 6000 people are currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the UK, according to the report. In 2012/13, 373 people died while waiting for a kidney transplant, it found. Report author Dominic Summers, from the Department of Surgery at Cambridge, said: "We did not expect to find such marked differences in organ donation rates between different regions in the UK after already taking into account the various factors known to influence the number of organ donors.