People in Derby and Burton are encouraged to confirm their decision to save lives this Organ Donation Week
This Organ Donation Week (23 – 29 September) NHS Blood and Transplant and University Hospitals of Derby & Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) are celebrating the fact that the NHS Organ Donor Register has been saving lives for 30 years through the gift of organ donation.
Since its creation in 1994, thousands of lives have been saved thanks to people agreeing to donate their organs after death by confirming their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
However, more people than ever before need a life-saving transplant across the UK, with more than 7,600 people on the active waiting list, including 225 in Derbyshire and Staffordshire – so it’s vital that people confirm their organ donation decision to save lives. Declaring their decision through the NHS Organ Donor Register is the best way for their family to know what they want. 9 out of 10 families will support organ donation if their loved one had confirmed their decision on the register.
With the law changing around organ donation, it is important to remember that it is assumed that when someone dies in the circumstances where they could be a donor, they agree to donate if they haven’t officially opted out.
However, no-one is automatically added to the Organ Donor Register. You still need to confirm your decision and your family will be consulted before donation goes ahead.
Dr Gisela Robinson, UHDB Chief Medical Officer, said: “We need more people in Derby and Burton to confirm their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register today to save more lives now and in the future. It is quick and easy to register your decision, call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk. One donor can save or transform up to nine lives through organ donation and save and transform even more by donating tissue.”
Derby Mum Natalie Hawkridge urges people to make their choices clear and save lives through the gift of organ donation. Her son Sam was a happy, lovable 8-year-old boy who enjoyed school, cubs, camping, watching football, trains and Thunderbirds.
Natalie Hawkridge and her husband Mick decided to donate Sam’s organs 20 years ago, when they were told that a brain haemorrhage had left him brain stem dead. The family had returned from a holiday in Blackpool and Sam woke the next day with a headache and feeling sick. He collapsed, was rushed to hospital but then suffered a fit and never regained consciousness.
Natalie said: “The doctor asked us if we would consider organ donation. With everything happening so suddenly we had not even thought about donating Sam’s organs, but after consideration we agreed and thought it was what Sam would have wanted, even though he was only eight. Through us making the right decision Sam has helped five people have a better quality of life.”
“We agreed to donate Sam’s heart, lungs, liver and kidneys and these organs were successfully retrieved. Sam’s heart was deemed unsuitable because it had been damaged, but they retrieved his heart valves.
"Sam’s liver helped a 22-year-old male with liver failure, his kidneys helped a 44-year-old female and a 6-year-old girl both with kidney disease and on dialysis. His heart valves were stored and later helped a 7-month-old and a 2-month-old baby girl, both born with a congenital heart disorder.”
This week, UHDB is supporting the campaign through digital displays, providing staff with pink, branded giveaways, having a pink inflatable Air Dancer welcoming visitors to the acute hospital site, and lighting the Royal Derby Hospital pink for the week.
To find out more and confirm your decision, visit the NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk. Users of the NHS app, can also use this to record, check or amend their details or decision.