Some 35 human organs were made available for transplant after being donated over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, new figures have shown.

The organs were provided by 11 donors across the UK after their death and included a heart, lungs, kidneys, livers, pancreas and bowel, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said.

No details have yet been given on the circumstances of those receiving the transplants.

It comes as there are 8,020 people in the UK actively waiting for a transplant, the highest level in a decade, NHSBT said.

All adults in the UK are now deemed to have given consent as a potential organ donor after their death unless they choose to opt out or are in an excluded group.

The legislation was first introduced in Wales in 2015 before England (2020) and Scotland (2021) followed suit, with Northern Ireland the last to implement the policy with Daithi’s Law last June.

More than 100,000 transplants have taken place since the creation of the NHS Organ Donor Register in 1994, with more than 28 million people now opted in to the register.

Anthony Clarkson, NHSBT’s director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, said: “Organ donors give the ultimate gift of life to people they will never know. This year, like every year, families supported organ donation even after a bereavement at Christmas, choosing to save and improve lives.

“It is incredibly important that we recognise the difference this makes to the lives of recipients. Without donation, there is no transplantation. There will be people starting a new life in the new year thanks to the generosity of these donors and their loved ones.

“No-one wants to think about death but the reality is it can happen at any time of year. You can make things easier for your family by signing the NHS Organ Donor Register and telling them you want to be a donor.”