This week (w/c 3rd September 2018) is Organ Donation week.  This is the week when we remind everyone about how important organ donation is.  3 patients a week die while on the organ donation waiting list.

In the near future it is likely that the organ donation register in England will become an opt-out system, so we will all be automatically signed up to it with the option to sign out.  However, even after this happens, the following will still be true …

Even if you have signed the register, after your death your family could override your decision and refuse permission for your organs to be used for a transplant – so it is very important that you have a conversation with your loved ones so they know your wishes.

Besides organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas and small bowel), tissue such as corneas, skin, bone, heart valves can be used to help others.

I have changed the page banner on the site to remind everyone how important this is.  This shows Lesley, Jane and I helping to raise awareness about ODT by decorating St Richard’s Hospital on Sunday.  By the end of the day, Lesley and I had renamed Jane as ‘Mrs Bunting’ – if there was a likely place to put it … she did!  Even statues weren’t safe …

If you are not registered and would like to … click here.

Kate Claisse