"Imagine: you are told that the reason you have been feeling sick, that your ankles are swollen and you never stop aching and feeling exhausted is that your kidneys are no longer working and that the only thing that will keep you alive is a procedure called dialysis…or a transplant.
And dialysis meant drinking just 500 ml of fluid a day, an almost impossible diet where chocolate, coffee, bananas, cheese, and so many others things are banned or restricted. And you must spend 5 or 6 hours in a hospital 3 days a week, with 2 big needles plunged into your arm, connected to a machine which extracts, filters and returns your blood through tubes attached to those needles.
And all this gives you just 10% of your normal kidney function, and you probably feel even sicker after treatment than you did before, your blood pressure has dropped way down and you may be bleeding from where those great big needles were for a long time. You may be too weak to walk and you are likely to be depressed and out of work.
You have a day off, and then it all starts again…and again….and again...
There are more people waiting for a transplant than there are available organs and the longer a person with kidney failure waits the more likely they are to die.
What if that other alternative, a transplant, might just be a possibility? Something that you could return some of your health and transform your life or that of your child? A transplant isn’t a cure, but it is the best form of treatment for kidney disease. However there are more people waiting for a transplant than there are available organs and the longer a person with kidney failure waits the more likely they are to die. 50% will be dead within 5 years. And every day another 3 people die waiting.
We need to change this.
On March 6 2018 the governments organ donation consultation will close. Please, if you haven’t already, take a few minutes to share your views and help shape the future of organ donation. This is one of the best opportunities we have seen in a decade to increase donations and save lives. Let’s not waste it."
Have your say: Organ donation consultation
Organ donation 'opt-out' system - last chance t...
The government consultation to find out what people think of how the changes should be made closes on the 6 March
Organ donation opt-out plans launched
Health Secretary calls for public to put aside the taboo of organ donation to save thousands of lives
Organ donation moves forward
MPs have given their backing to a bill that would introduce an opt-out system for organ donation