Organ Donation Week 2022
Councils, businesses, hospitals and community groups around the country are turning their buildings pink this week, which is the colour of the country’s ‘Yes I Donate’ organ donation campaign, to inspire people to tell their families that they want to be a donor and to register their decision.
This week (26th September-2nd October) marks national Organ Donation Week and specialist nurses in Milton Keynes are using the opportunity to encourage people to consider and discuss their wishes. Nationally, someone dies every day in need of an organ, and there are almost 7,000 people currently on the active transplant waiting list.
There are currently more than 30 million people in the UK who have registered their organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register with more than 27 million of them explicitly agreeing to be an organ donor when they die, but this still only represents around 44% of the UK population.
Even though the law around organ donation has now changed to an ‘opt out’ system across England, Scotland and Wales, family members will still always be involved before organ donation goes ahead. This means it is just as important as ever to register your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and ensure your friends and family know what you want and will have the confidence to support your decision during this difficult time.
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Sadly, many opportunities are lost every year in Milton Keynes and around the country because families don’t know if their loved one wanted to be a donor or not. We need people to not only talk to their families about organ donation, but to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. This really could be the difference between life and death for someone else.”
Register your donation decision at www.organdonation.nhs.uk
Last Modified: 8:51am 27/09/2022
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