A total of 23 people in Suffolk are currently waiting for a kidney transplant - and the number is expected to rise.

NHS Blood and Transplant is encouraging people to share their organ donation decision and explore living kidney donation this World Kidney Day (March 10).

Kidney transplants were the hardest hit area of organ donation during the pandemic, with an overall drop of 34% in 2020/21 compared to 2019/20.

Living kidney donation allows people to either choose to donate to someone they know or create a chain of transplants via the UK living kidney sharing scheme.

Living donor transplantation helps minimise the time people rely on dialysis by offering patients who are most difficult to match the chance of a successful transplant.

Director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, at NHS Blood and Transplant, Anthony Clarkson, said: "We know the pandemic is a very worrying time for kidney patients as thousands of people, including 23 patients in Suffolk, wait for a life-changing kidney transplant.

"If anyone in Suffolk is willing to consider living kidney donation, they can find out more on our website.”