Made in Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump has revealed that his mother and brother have been ruled out as live liver donors, a significant setback in his battle with end-stage liver disease. The 29-year-old, diagnosed in October 2025, now faces an uncertain wait on the NHS transplant list as the UK grapples with a sharp decline in organ donations.
Family Donors Ruled Out
Vanderpump, who was born with congenital liver and kidney disease, had hoped his mother Simone and brother Jack could donate a portion of their livers. However, he told Metro that both were deemed unsuitable about a month ago, dashing those hopes.
“We were looking into my mother and brother being a live donor. They both looked into it. It was a bit of a blow for us, about a month ago, that we learned they could not be a live donor. It meant I really do just have to wait on the waiting list,” he said.
Waiting List Crisis
The revelation comes as NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) launches its first-ever urgent response plan to tackle what it calls a “sharp” decline in organ donation. New figures show donor numbers have fallen by 9% compared to the same period last year, while the waiting list has grown to its longest ever, with over 8,700 people queuing for a life-saving donation.
Nine people die every week while waiting for a transplant, according to NHSBT. Vanderpump, who was hospitalised with kidney and liver failure leading to life-threatening sepsis in December 2024, now feels “stuck in purgatory” because his current condition does not make him a high priority.
“Because of my condition I am not sick at the moment, which probably entails that I am not that high up on the list. It means I will have to wait even longer for a liver transplant. People with genetic conditions like me have to wait to become sick to become an urgent priority,” he explained.
Urgent Call for Donors
NHSBT is urging the public to register on the NHS Organ Donor Register during Organ Donation Week. New data reveals that over 700 potential donations did not go ahead between April 2021 and March 2026 because families were unsure of their loved one’s wishes. On average, each deceased donor can save three lives, meaning around 2,127 missed transplant opportunities.
Family consent rates have dropped from 67% in 2020/21 to 57% last year, and only 1% of people in the UK die in circumstances where donation is possible. Anthony Clarkson, NHSBT’s director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, said: “We are facing one of the most challenging periods for organ donation in over a decade. The sharp decline in donors and the rising number of people waiting for a transplant need urgent action.”
Vanderpump echoed the call, saying: “You are more likely to need an organ than you are to donate an organ. By extension if you are willing to accept an organ, you should be willing to donate one. You are also taking pressure off your family at a time of grief. It is essentially a crisis. There is one easy way to fix it and save lives and that is to be an organ donor. It is the greatest gift to give.”
NHSBT is calling on one million people who have never registered before to confirm their decision. Clarkson added: “There is a simple action the public can take to help save lives. Please sign the NHS Organ Donor Register. Most of us would accept an organ if we needed one but opportunities to save lives are being lost because families didn’t know what their loved ones wanted. Leave them certain.”
The urgent response plan includes identifying and referring more potential donors, accelerating actions to improve consent rates, and maximising every viable donation opportunity in hospitals.
