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. Transplant Tales: Staying Alive 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.
Due to an aging population, alcohol and obesity, the demand for transplant organs - livers, kidneys, lungs and hearts - is set to explode over the next ten years. But there is already a critical shortage of these organs. Three people in the UK die waiting for a transplant every day, and 10,000 sit on the Transplant Waiting List. With the system in crisis, this series has exclusive access to Scotland's entire transplant service. The two-part documentary tells the human story behind the ever-growing numbers of patients whose lives are on hold, desperately waiting for an organ to become available.