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Background
For nearly fifty years surgeons have been transplanting organs to save the lives of people on the verge of death.
Rapid advances in transplant surgery mean there is no medical reason why many people should continue to die from certain forms of kidney failure, liver or heart disease.
But there is a serious shortage of donated organs and the gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a transplant is increasing.
Demand for organs
During the next decade the number of people needing a transplant is expected to rise steeply due to:
Lost opportunity
Bodies that are buried or cremated complete with organs could often have been used to save lives. That opportunity is lost, not because the deceased objected to donation, but simply because they never got around to informing their relatives of their wishes and enrolling on the |NHS Organ Donor Register.
Who can donate organs?
Not everyone who dies will be a potential organ donor - althoughnearly everyone can donate their corneas to help others to see or gift bone, skin or other tissues.
Organs can usually only be donated by people who have died in hospital.
Hearts and lungs in particular can normally only be donated by patients who have died while receiving mechanical ventilation in a hospital intensive care unit as a result of a major accident like a car crash, a brain haemorrhage or stroke. Improved road and vehicle safety and improvements in medical technology mean that the numbers of people dying in these circumstances is decreasing.
The Register of potential donors
The NHS Organ Donor Register, which was established in 1994, is a computerised, confidential register of people who are willing to leave the gift of life to others after their death. It can be quickly accessed 24 hours a day to see whether an individual has registered a willingness to be an organ donor. It can literally be a life-saver.
Families are always consulted if there is a possibility that organs could be used to help others, irrespective of whether the person was on the register or carried an organ donor card. Objection is almost unknown if the family is aware that their relative wished to donate.
Sue Sutherland, chief executive of UK Transplant said:
"We don't only need people to register - we also need them to tell their loved ones about their wishes. Not only does organ donation save lives, but many relatives have said that it has given them some comfort to know that their loved one, although no longer with them, has helped to save or enhance the lives or other people."
How you can help
To join the Register or find out more,
please call: 0845 6060 400
|Visit the UK transplant website