Yesterday Graham Evans MP attended an event at the Houses of Parliament to mark the launch of National Transplant Week. The week highlights the importance of organ donation. Around a third of adults across the country admit they haven’t considered organ donation or decided if they want to be an organ donor, NHS Blood and Transplant has revealed. In Weaver Vale 31339 have registered their name on the Organ Donation Register. Nationally 4.1 million people who do want to donate their organs when they die say they haven’t talked to a loved one about that decision.
Graham said: “This National Transplant Week, I’m urging everyone in Weaver Vale to talk to their nearest and dearest about organ donation so they know whether they want to donate their organs after they have died. I am a great supporter of organ and blood donation, and I am pleased that initiatives like this raise awareness of the need for more people to save lives and donate. I’ve recently donated my 61st pint of blood having donated my first pint in my 20’s. In the summer, I met with the Chief Exec of the Blood and Transplant board who told me that blood donating is reaching record highs which is terrific, however, they are especially in need of more of the rarer blood types. Whether it is an organ or blood that you donate, it could save someone's life.”
Across the UK there are 10,000 people in need of a transplant. Last year the number of people donating organs fell for the first time in 11 years. The UK also has one of the lowest rates in Europe for families consenting to organ donation and in 2014/15 only 58% agreed to donate their family members’ organs after they died.
This National Transplant Week, NHS Blood and Transplant want to get the whole nation talking about organ donation and the importance of sharing decisions on being an organ donor with family and close friends. The Seven Days to Say Yes I Donate campaign aims to help break down barriers and taboos around organ donation.
Anthony Clarkson, NHS Blood and Transplant’s Assistant Director for Organ Donation and Nursing said: “Everyday three people die in need of a transplant. Yet across the UK 1 in 3 adults haven’t considered organ donation or decided whether they want to be an organ donor.
“To save more lives we need more donors. We need to get to the point where organ donation is high on the list of important personal conversations we routinely have with loved ones.”
Paddy Tabor, Chief Executive of the British Kidney patient Association said: “Every transplant can transform someone’s life, it is for many people simply the gift of life. So although every single organ donated matters, without donors telling their families about their wishes, consent rates drop dramatically from 90% to 60% and donors’ wishes may not be carried out. Please have the conversation and ensure your family are aware of your wishes”.
How you can support the Seven Days to Say Yes I Donate campaign:
· Go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk to find out more information
· During National Transplant Week show your support for organ donation on social media by posting about your conversations using #sayidonate
· Twitter @nhsorgandonor #sayidonate
· Facebook: www.facebook.com/organdonationUK
· Instagram @nhsorgandonor
· YouTube: /www.youtube.com/user/nhsorgandonation
ENDS
Notes:
- It’s simple to join the ODR by:
o going to www.organdonation.nhs.uk
o ringing 0300 123 23 23
- Anyone can register on the ODR. Age isn’t a barrier to being an organ or tissue donor and neither are most medical conditions. People in their 70s and 80s have become donors and saved many lives.
- One donor can save or transform up to 9 lives and many more can be helped through the donation of tissues.
- The British Kidney Patient Association improves quality of life for kidney patients www.britishkidney-pa.co.uk