The British Liver Trust is proud to support Organ Donation Week 2018.
Right now across the UK, there are around 6,000 people in need of an organ transplant, including around 150 children and teenagers. On average three people die every day in need of an organ transplant because there just aren’t enough organ donors.
For people in the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities the situation is even more critical. More donors are needed to address an increase in patients from these communities dying whilst waiting for an organ transplant.
If you donate your organs after you die you could save and improve the lives of up to nine people, and help even more if you donate tissue.
Only around 5000 people across the UK each year die in circumstances where they could donate their organs.
We need as many people as possible to register their commitment to becoming organ donors so if they die in circumstances where their organs or tissue could be used to help others, authorised NHS Blood and Transplant staff can see what they wanted to happen. You can do this by signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register www.organdonation.nhs.uk and by telling your family that you want them to support your decision.
We know many people don’t want to think about their own death. But patients waiting for a transplant depend on people of all ages thinking about whether they want to save lives when they die and registering their decision to become a donor.
Your age, nor any existing medical conditions should stop you from signing up and telling your family that you want them to support your decision to donate, if and when the time comes.
Go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk today to register as a donor. It only takes a few minutes to register and please remember to tell your family that you want them to support your decision to donate and save lives. Ask them whether they want to be donors too. #YesIDonate
Organ Donation in Wales
Consent for Organ Donation in Wales is different to the rest of the UK. In Wales, you can become an organ donor by joining the Organ Donor Register (opt in) telling family and friends or by doing nothing. If you do nothing, you will be treated as having no objection to becoming an organ donor.
If you don’t want to be an organ donor, you can also record this on the Organ Donor Register by visiting www.organdonationwales.org or calling 0300 123 23 23.
You can change your organ donation decision at any time.