Image caption,

Sarah Meredith has been waiting for a liver transplant for two years

By Catherine Burns and Vicki Loader

BBC Health Team

The system for allocating most liver transplants on the NHS is causing younger patients to wait longer for surgery, figures show.

There is a shortage of liver donors, so a computer algorithm decides who to prioritise on the waiting list.

Younger people are currently waiting 156 days longer on average for a transplant than patients over 60.

But NHS Blood and Transplant (NHS BT) says difficult decisions have to be made and the system is saving lives.

There are about 700 people on the liver transplant waiting list in the UK - although that number fluctuates as new patients are added and some have their surgery.

Others do not receive a transplant in time, with 69 people dying last year before they could get a liver.

In 2018, a new computer algorithm was launched to cut deaths on the waiting list.

It prioritises patients who are most likely to die soon, which in practice, tends to be older people.