This Organ Donation Week (23 –29 September) Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Blood and Transplant 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 are in need for a life-saving transplant across the UK, with more than 7,600 people on the active waiting list, including 92* across Bradford – so it’s vital that people confirm their organ donation decision to save lives.
More than 180,000* people across the Bradford district have already declared their decision through the NHS Organ Donor Register, which is the best way for their family to know what they want. Nine out of 10 families will support organ donation if their loved one had confirmed their decision on the NHS Organ Donor 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, that 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.
In total, alongside the 92 Bradford people waiting for kidney, pancreas, heart, lungs and liver transplants, a further 82* have currently been suspended from the waiting list (total together of those active and suspended on the transplant waiting list is 174* patients). Patients are suspended if their bodies are too sick to withstand the major procedure, so a leading Bradford doctor is urging people to register their decision to donate.
* Statistics accurate as of 15 August 2024.
Clinical Lead for Organ Donation at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Consultant Anaesthetist, Dr James Morgan, said:
Confirming your decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register makes it clear to your family that you want to be an organ donor, leaving them certain of your decision at what is a difficult and emotional time.
We need more people in Bradford and across the district to confirm their decision on the register today to save more lives now and in the future.
One organ donor has the potential to save nine lives, which is an incredible legacy to leave. I would urge people throughout the city and region to sit down together, learn and talk about organ donation (www.organdonation.nhs.uk) with their families and loved ones, so that your wishes are clear.
In 2023/24, 80 adults and young people across the Bradford district received the gift of life when they received a transplant.
This week, Bradford Teaching Hospitals, is supporting the campaign and the Trust’s Organ Donation Committee will be hosting an awareness stall on the main concourse at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
The Organ Donor Register was set up to promote organ donation and allow people to record their decision to donate. It was the result of a five-year campaign by John Cox and his daughter Christine after their son and brother, Peter, died in 1989. He had asked for his organs to be used to help others.
Up to nine people’s lives can be saved when a person donates their organs after death and more can be saved when tissue is donated.
Karen Piotr, chairperson of Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ organ donation committee, became involved in raising awareness when her husband, Mark donated his organs after his death following a catastrophic brain bleed.
She agreed to support her husband’s decision to be an organ donor.
Karen and Mark had discussed organ donation several times before, so she knew what he wanted.
Mark went on to help eight people by donating his heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, corneas and tissue.
Karen, who is also now a Donor Family Network Trustee, added:
The NHS Organ Donor Register has been saving lives for 30 years through the gift of organ donation yet today in Bradford more people than ever need an organ transplant. It’s vital that people confirm their organ donation decision to save lives.
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant said:
Thanks to the support of Bradford Teaching Hospitals during Organ Donation Week, we can get the message across to more people that organ donation saves lives.
Every day across the UK thousands of patients and their families are waiting for a life-saving call. But this can often only happen as a result of another family receiving very difficult news and supporting organ donation to help others.
Thanks to all those families who campaign for the NHS Organ Donor Register as this has potentially saved the lives of thousands of people. Their work is an incredible legacy, and we are so very grateful for their tireless work over the years which made this possible.
With more people, both adults and children, waiting for transplants, it’s more important than ever to confirm your organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. We urge everyone to take a moment this Organ Donation Week to register and confirm your decision.
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.