Long time no see, little blog, yet I have a host of unfinished posts lurking… never mind. I’m back with some brief news about this month’s health column. That’s the one published this month, not the one I’ve written this month. I work three months ahead on these, so sometimes I need to check what’s out at the moment!
This month’s column is on organ donation because Organ Donation week started on Monday the 4th and because organ donation is so tremendously important.
Want to know a horrible fact that really proves how shallow a race we are?
96% of us would take an organ if needed. Yet only 29% of us are on the Organ Donor Register.
It’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think? And yes, before someone shouts at me, I do know that a (very) small proportion of people can’t be organ donors. But even so.
Imagine, for a moment, getting the call that tells you someone you love has been in an accident and that they need a transplant – or visualize the scene in a doctor’s office as you’re told that you or a loved one has some dreadful condition for which the only permanent cure is a transplant.
Now imagine spending months in a hospital because there aren’t any organs available, while around you, every day, people with usable, healthy organs that could save the life of your child, parent or partner die, destroying and wasting those organs – all because they couldn’t be bothered to register as an organ donor. But of course, unless you were a registered donor yourself, you wouldn’t be in a position to wail and rail against the injustice of it all. The wheel turns…
So, if you’re not an organ donor, I urge you to not just think about it, but take action. In June 2017, when I wrote the article, there were 6342 people on the UK national transplant waiting list. Three people die every day in the UK due to a shortage of donated organs. Signing up many more donors may not eradicate that problem, but it could help.
Here’s a pic of one version of the published article and underneath, some info you might need if this has made you consider registering as a donor. Don’t forget that you can become a live donor too; there’s more info on that on the websites I’ve listed below.
How to Register as An Organ Donor
You can register online at www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-to-donate/. You can also join the Register at your GP surgery or when you apply for a driving licence, European Health Insurance card (EHIC) or a Boots Advantage card.
Wales adopted a soft opt-out policy in 2015, which means that if you do not opt out of organ donor registration, you are presumed to have no objection to being a donor.
How to Donate Organs or Tissues as A Living Donor:
To donate organs, contact the transplant centres. Numbers are available here https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets/1059/transplant_centre_contacts_liver.pdf
To donate tissues, Contact the National Referral Centre on 0800 432 0559 (Freephone) or Email: national.referral.centre@nhsbt.nhs.uk
For more information, visit:
www.organdonation.nhs.uk
www.nhsbt.nhs.uk
www.organdonationscotland.org (Scotland)
http://organdonationwales.org (Wales)