This week is Organ Donation Week and we’re urging people to have a chat with their loved ones so that they know what your wishes are when it comes to organ donation. Organ donation is particularly important to people with kidney disease as 90% of those on the waiting list are waiting for a kidney, and sadly 1 person dies every day whilst waiting for that kidney transplant. Hundreds of transplants are missed every year because families don’t know what their relative wanted – if you are on the organ donor register your family’s agreement is still needed for the donation to go ahead.
457 people died last year while on the transplant waiting list
On Wednesday 6 September we'll be in Westminster to meet MPs and help raise awareness of organ donation and transplantation alongside NHSBT.
Fiona Loud, Policy Director at Kidney Care UK adds, “Whether it’s around the dining room table, on the sofa, in the car or in the supermarket – just have the chat. We regularly hear from families who have told us that it helps with their grief and they feel so much pride knowing that they have helped their relative give others a chance of a new beginning.”
There is a particular need for more black and Asian people to talk about donation. Patients from ethnic minority communities make up 29% of the national transplant waiting list but people from these communities are less likely to agree to donate. Organs from people from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a close match and give the best chance of a positive outcome.
- Register for organ donation
- Help spread the word by liking us on Facebook
- Help spread the word by following us on Twitter
