For this issue of the QUOD newsletter, it is a pleasure to introduce Sue Madden, Principal Statistician for NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), based in Filton. Sue works with data relating to deceased organ donation across the UK, and her role is central to understanding and improving organ donation services, combining detailed statistical analyses with close collaborations across clinical, operational, and research teams.
Sue works within NHSBT’s Clinical Directorate as part of a statistics team of around 30 people, who cover all of the services NHSBT provide, including organ and tissue donation and transplantation, blood donation and transfusion medicine, and clinical trials. The organ donation team comprises four staff members, including Sue. This time of year is particularly busy for Sue and her colleagues as the annual reporting season gets underway following the end of the financial year. Data submitted up to the end of March are carefully validated and analysed to produce national reports that are published online and shared with the public.
While her role is varied, a typical week for Sue may include meeting with clinicians, discussions about ongoing studies, supporting research requests, producing analyses for publications, or providing data to the communications team for media releases. She works closely with a wide range of people and teams, including NHSBT’s Associate Medical Director for Deceased Donation, Dr Dale Gardiner, , as well as Specialist Nurses in Organ Donation, operational teams, and researchers across the UK.
One of the main aspects of Sue’s work is supporting the National Potential Donor Audit (PDA), which is a UK-wide system that has been managed by NHSBT since 2003. The PDA reviews all deaths in critical care to identify the potential for organ donation within all hospitals across the UK. Twice a year, Sue’s team produces detailed reports for NHS trusts, health boards and NHS boards, alongside summary letters for chief executives, to give them feedback on their performance, with the aim of helping to keep organ donation high on organisational agendas and highlighting areas for improvement.
Sue also works closely with QUOD, supporting the sharing of donor data for research purposes. NHSBT maintains the national donor database, and Sue’s team provides monthly updates on donor demographics and other information that helps researchers to identify suitable study cohorts. More detailed datasets can then subsequently be requested for approved studies, including information such as blood test results and transplant outcomes.
Sue landed her career within the NHSBT statistics team “almost by accident” after completing her degree in Maths. Despite not being a planned move, she has never looked back and has worked there ever since, with a short career break in 2004–2025, when she completed a Master’s degree in Statistics at the University of the West of England. While she doesn’t have a medical background, she has built extensive knowledge of organ donation, transplantation, and the clinical language surrounding the field over the years.
Sue describes the statistics team as highly supportive and values the sense of purpose behind the work. In her 26 years with NHSBT, she has seen huge technological advances transform the speed and sophistication of statistical analysis and reporting. She is also passionate about maintaining strong team cohesion, particularly after the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and values the opportunities that in-person working provides for sharing knowledge and experience.
Outside of work, Sue loves to play ultimate frisbee, which she loves for its friendly community spirit, competitiveness, and flexibility to be played almost anywhere, from beaches to open fields. One of the sport’s unique features is that it is self-refereed and relies heavily on honesty and sportsmanship between players. Sue recently represented Great Britain in the Grand Masters division at the 2025 World Beach Championships in Portugal and relished the opportunity to return to competitive play. Although currently sidelined by injury, she is hoping to get back on the field soon. We wish her well and hope she can return to playing again soon.
World Beach Championships in Portimão, Portugal
