Made In Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump has revealed his mum and brother have been told they cannot donate their own livers to him.
The reality star, who was handed an end-stage liver disease diagnosis in October last year, was hoping his family could become live donors and give him part of their organ.
But last month he was told that wouldn’t be possible, meaning he has to wait for a liver on the NHS waiting list.
Sam is speaking out as NHS Blood and Transplant launches an urgent response plan for the first time in history to tackle a ‘sharp’ decline in organ donation.
The ‘crisis’ has hit as the number of donors has fallen to 9% less than the same period last year, while the waiting list grows to its longest ever.
There are now over 8,700 people queuing for a life-saving donation, with nine people dying every week while they wait.
Sam, 29, who was born with congenital liver and kidney disease, is now stuck on that waiting list too after a ‘blow’ to his family over the possibility of a live donor.
The TV star was hospitalised with kidney and liver failure – leading to life-threatening sepsis – in December 2024 due to the genetic liver condition.
In October 2025, he announced he had been handed an end-stage liver disease diagnosis and given just a handful of years for his liver to continue functioning, meaning he must receive an urgent organ transplant.
Earlier this year, his mum, Simone, and brother, Jack, were undergoing tests to assess their suitability to be a live liver donor for Sam.
That would mean a portion of their healthy liver would replace Sam’s organ, which is possible because a liver can regrow to full size within months.
However, the Made in Chelsea star told Metro that they both were told they could not be live donors.
He said: ‘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 now feels like he is ‘stuck in purgatory’ because he is not currently a high priority for a transplant.
Sam explained: ‘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.
‘You do not want to become sick, but unfortunately that is my condition.
‘I am going to get sick at one point. If there were enough organs being donated, then people would not need to be sick to get an organ.
‘If we become too sick, we might even die… It is a horrible situation to be in.’
On the first day of organ donation week today, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) are urging the public to register as organ donors on the NHS Organ Donor register to halt a rapid decline in donations.
New figures released today reveal that over 700 potential donations did not go ahead between April 2021 and March 2026, because families did not know for certain what their loved one would have wanted.
On average, each deceased donor will donate three organs, resulting in around 2,127 missed opportunities for transplant.
Family consent rates have dropped from 67% in 2020/21 to 57% last year, while only 1% of people in the UK die in circumstances where donation is possible.
Sam said he ‘hopes our appeals to the general public are working’.
He added: ‘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 organ donation decision.
Their director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, Anthony Clarkson, 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.
‘We have already adapted significantly to changes in the donation environment. But. Saving lives and reducing the waiting list needs collective effort across the NHS and society.
‘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 NHS is also begging an urgent response plan to accelerate measures to stabilise and recover organ donation levels.
This includes by identifying and referring more potential donors, accelerating actions to improve consent rates and maximising every viable donation opportunity in hospitals.