Lay Members
Recruitment

Dear applicant

Thank you for your interest in the Lay Member post at NHS Blood and Transplant, Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Directorate. 

NHSBT’s Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Directorate’s role is to work with partners across the NHS to increase organ donation and transplantation in the UK. We manage the Specialist Nursing Service for Organ Donation and provide funding and leadership for the UK’s Clinical Leads for Organ Donation, the Organ Donation Committees, and their Chairs and for Regional Organ Donation Collaboratives. We manage the NHS Organ Donor Register and promote the benefits of organ donation to the public. We support Living Donation through our Living Donor Kidney Strategy, and we commission the National Organ Retrieval Service. On the Transplant side, NHSBT is responsible for working with clinicians in the Organ Advisory Groups to develop and implement patient selection criteria and organ allocation policies for organs from deceased donors and we monitor transplant outcomes and clinical governance with the transplant commissioners (NHS England). 

Our mission to reach as many people as possible in need of life changing and lifesaving donations has been further strengthened by recent changes to Organ donation laws.   Thanks to 2,387 people who donated organs, 4,533 people were given the gift of life in 2022/23. 

As we navigate the ever-changing context within which we operate, there has never been a more compelling time to join us, especially following the publication in February of this year of the DHSC ‘Organ utilisation Group’ report which brings new challenges. 

We are seeking individuals who are committed to public service and to NHSBT’s purpose to join us as Lay Members who will be assigned  to our Advisory Groups focusing on Liver, Kidney, Heart, Lung, Pancreas, Multi-visceral and Composite Tissue, Retrieval Advisory Group, National Organ Donation Committee & Research, Innovation and Novel Technologies Advisory Group Those appointed will work with multi-disciplinary professionals including medical specialists, specialist nurses, commissioners, representatives from NHSBT and the national Departments of Health.

This is a critical time in our development and your chance to play a key part in the future of organ and tissue donation and transplantation in the UK. Your role will be strategic – not only to advise on policies; and ensure good governance but also to promote organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Most importantly you will bring an independent and fresh perspective to our discussions. Our work is complex, so you need to be comfortable dealing with sensitive and multifaceted information. A collaborative approach is imperative, but this must go hand in hand with resilience and the confidence to ensure your voice is heard alongside experts in their field.

We value and promote diversity and are committed to equality of opportunity for all. 

Appointments will be made on merit. We believe that for any organisation to be successful, it needs to work with the most talented and diverse people available. We positively encourage applications from people from all sections of the community, from all backgrounds and with a broad range of experience. We undertake to ensure that your application will be dealt with fairly and that all decisions we make in relation to it will be based on merit and your ability to meet the candidate specification.

If you think you have the skills, experience, and commitment to help us in this interesting and important work we look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Professor Derek Manas

Medical Director, Organ Tissue Donation and Transplantation