This Organ Donation Week (22 – 28 September) we’re joining up with the transplant community to help celebrate the thousands of lives changed by organ donation since 1995, when the organ donor register was created.
In the last 31 years more than 100,000 transplants have taken place, with 60,000 patients still alive today thanks to this life-saving gift.
NHS Blood and Transplant are asking local landmarks and buildings to ‘go pink’ for Organ Donation Week, because pink is the colour of the organ donation card.
They are also encouraging people to confirm their organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register, because unfortunately the transplant waiting list is the longest it has ever been.
Action to reduce the waiting list is needed now
The UK is not where we want it to be with organ donation. Too many people are dying needlessly whilst waiting for an organ, so we are calling on the government to launch a UK-wide awareness campaign and education programme to help people understand how organ donation works and how they can register their organ donation decision. The increases in the number of people with diabetes and high blood pressure, both leading causes of kidney disease, plus the lag in detection during the pandemic, are a perfect storm for kidney failure. Reducing the number of people who develop kidney failure and who need a transplant will be better for people, better for the NHS, better for the economy, the environment and society at large. Action is needed now to reduce the waiting list and help save lives in 2025 and for the future.Fiona Loud, Policy Director at Kidney Care UK, and recipient of a kidney transplant from a living donor
Five facts to share this Organ Donation Week
To help us raise awareness, here are five facts you can share this Organ Donation Week:
- The transplant waiting list in the UK is currently the longest it has ever been and sadly more than 400 people died last year waiting for a transplant (an increase of 11% compared to the year before).
- Right now, more than 8,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant; of those, 6,887 are waiting for a kidney.
- Last year almost 1,000 people donated a kidney or part of their liver through living donation.
- Even though the UK operates a presumed consent organ donation system it’s still vital to record your organ donation decision on the organ donor register and to tell your loved ones. Last year 173 families overruled their loved ones' registered or expressed decision to donate (and additionally, 520 families did not give consent for organ donation despite the law change to presume consent for donation).
- Confirming your organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register takes just 2 minutes. Only 1 in 100 people die in a way that makes organ donation possible. Telling your loved ones your organ donation decision ensures they know your decision should organ donation be an option when you die.
Please share these on social media and with your friends and family, using the hashtag #OrganDonationWeek and tagging us @kidneycareuk.
