Southampton community urged to confirm organ donation decision as register marks 30 years of saving lives

Residents in Southampton are being urged to confirm their organ donation decision to help save lives.

The call is being made as part of Organ Donation Week, which runs from Monday 23 September to Sunday 29 September.

NHS Blood and Transplant and University Hospital Southampton (UHS) are marking the fact that the NHS Organ Donor Register has been saving lives for 30 years through the gift of organ donation.

Since its creation in 1994, thousands of lives have been saved thanks to people agreeing to donate their organs after death, by confirming their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

However, more people than ever before are in need for a life-saving transplant across the UK, with more than 7,600 people on the active waiting list, including 22 in Southampton – so it’s vital that people confirm their organ donation decision to save lives.

So far, 87,041 people in Southampton have declared their decision through the NHS Organ Donor Register, which is the best way for their family to know what they want.

Research shows that nine out of 10 families support organ donation if their loved one had expressed their wishes before their death.

Currently the law assumes that a person would agree to donate their organs if they have not taken steps to officially opt out.

However, no-one is automatically added to the Organ Donor Register – you need to confirm the decision yourself if you want your wishes to be known.

David Thomson, specialist nurse in organ donation at UHS, said: “Confirming your decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register makes it clear to your family that you want to be an organ donor, leaving them certain of your decision at what is a difficult and emotional time. We need more people in Southampton to confirm their decision on the register today in order to save more lives now and in the future.”

 

Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Thanks to the support of University Hospital Southampton during Organ Donation Week, we can get the message across to more people that organ donation saves lives.

“Every day across the UK, thousands of patients and their families are waiting for a life-saving call. But this can often only happen as a result of another family receiving very difficult news and supporting organ donation to help others.”

To find out more and confirm your decision, visit the NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk. Users of the NHS app, can also use this to record, check or amend their details or decision.