SIGNET: How this aims to help transplant patients (Organ Donation Week, 09/23)

To underline the importance of NHS Blood and Transplant Organ Donation Week, UKODTRN is summarising some key transplant research studies. Today we focus on the SIGNET, Statins for Improving orGaN outcome in Transplantation, randomised controlled trial which, when completed, will be the largest of its type in organ donation in the world. The study has so far involved almost 800 donors with the aim of 2,600. Co-Chief Investigator, Professor John Dark of Newcastle University, said: “SIGNET is the biggest donor intervention study in the world. Only in the UK, with the NHSBT Transplant Registry and the collaborative approach, with 89 different trusts being involved, is it indeed possible to do this.” The collaboration included a network of Clinical Leads for Organ Donation and a cohort of Specialist Nurses in Organ Donation (SNODs) who have extensive training in discussing consent with donor families under the most distressing of circumstances. “The study has shown the system has worked well with a 75% consent rate which is really good.” For more information about SIGNET see here