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The best decision you can make – saving lives through organ donation
During Organ Donation Week 2024, from 23 to 29 September 2024, people in Suffolk are being encouraged to confirm their decision about organ donation and save lives.
Consultant anaesthetist at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT), Dr Patricia Mills said: “This year marks the 30th anniversary of the NHS Organ Donor Register, 30 years of saving and changing lives. More than 30 million people in the UK have already declared their decision through the register, which takes two minutes, and could save or transform nine lives.”
Dr Mills, who is also WSFT’s associate medical director for patient safety, quality and culture said: “As well as recording their wishes on the register, I would encourage people to talk to their loved ones and make sure they understand and support their organ donation decision, which can leave such a valuable and lasting legacy.”
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) manages the NHS Organ Donor Register and National Transplant Register, which allows donors to be matched fairly to people who are waiting for a transplant. In 2023-24, 4,651 transplants were carried out, but demand is growing and NHSBT reports that there are more than 7,600 people actively waiting for a life-saving transplant across the UK.
Figures also show that consent for organ donation has fallen to 61%, but at the same time, research has found that nine out of 10 families would support organ donation if their loved one had confirmed their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Anyone can join the NHS Organ Donor Register, age and medical conditions are not necessarily a barrier to donation. One donor can save or transform up to nine lives through organ donation and save and transform even more by donating tissue.
Under English law, it will be considered that you agree to become an organ donor when you die, if you are over 18, have not opted out or are not in an excluded group. Families are still consulted if organ donation is a possibility, but hundreds of opportunities for transplants are missed every year because families are not sure what to do.
Organ Donation Week is marked by buildings around the country lighting up pink, which in Suffolk will include St Edmundsbury Cathedral, lighting up to celebrate and highlight the incredible difference organ donation can make.
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