Medics, nurses and other staff at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust are urging people to break silence on organ donation and Say Yes I Donate this National Transplant Week (7th – 13th September 2015).
16.9 million people – a third of UK adults – admit they haven’t considered organ donation or decided if they want to be an organ donor, NHS Blood and Transplant reveals.
And 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.*
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.
National Transplant Week is about getting 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 Say I Donate campaign aims to help break down barriers and taboos around organ donation.
Dr Julian Hull, clinical lead for organ donation at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said: “One donor can help several people because a single donor can donate a number of organs, yet there are always significantly more people waiting for an organ transplant than there are suitable donors.
“It is very easy to sign up to be an organ donor. You can register whilst you are fit and well and can choose which organs and tissue to donate. It’s important that individuals discuss their decision about organ donation with those closest to them so more lives can be saved.
“Twitter is a friendly, informal environment open to all to get any of their questions answered and I would encourage anyone who wants to know more about this topic to get in touch with me on @heartofengland.”
Show your support for organ donation on social media during National Transplant Week by posting about your conversations using #sayidonate Members of the public are also invited to go have all their questions about organ donation answered by Dr Hull on twitter on Thursday 10 September from 11.30am to 1.30pm. We encourage anyone to tune into our Twitter account @heartofengland to raise any questions or concerns about organ donation.
