Give the Gift of Life
Transplants are one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine. But they depend entirely on the generosity of donors and their families to make this life-saving gift to others.
Did you know that one donor can give a new life to up to nine people and restore the sight of two more?
There is a critical shortage of organs and the gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a transplant is increasing all the time. Every year, thousands of people in the UK need an organ transplant and every year around 400 people die while waiting for a suitable donor organ.
The need for donors has never been greater.
You can find out more from the NHS Blood and Transplant website.
You can also find out more about organ donation on the Live Life – Get Life Organ Donation Awareness website.
What is organ donation?
Organ donation is the gift of an organ to help someone else who needs a transplant. Hundreds of people’s lives are saved and transformed each year by the generosity of organ donors.
Organs that can be donated after death include the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas and small bowel.
Tissue such as skin, bone, heart valves and corneas can also be used to help
others.
The facts
- You are more likely to need a transplant than become a donor
- Each year in the UK nearly 3,000 organs are transplanted and more than 2,000 sight-saving cornea transplants are carried out
- The removal of organs is carried out with the same care and respect as any other operation
- Many relatives say that they have found some comfort in knowing that the loss of their loved one has given someone else the chance to live
- More than 13 million people in the UK have already signed up to save lives by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Leave someone a future
The law around Organ Donation changed in May 2020 in England. We now have an opt-out system. This means that unless you have registered a decision, it could be deemed that you have no objection to being an organ donor in the event of your death.
However, while the law has changed it is important to remember you still have a choice. To decide whether or not you wish to give life to someone else after you have died is something very personal and it is important everyone makes their own decision. Discuss your decision with those closest to you so they know your wishes should the time ever come. It is really helpful if you leave them certain of your wishes.
If you would like to donate, then you should join the NHS Organ Donor Register to ensure your wishes are recorded, but more importantly to let your loved ones know what your organ donation decision is. By joining the register you are sharing your decision to donate to your organs and / or tissue in order for them to be used for transplantation to save or enhance the lives of others after your death.
Having that difficult conversation with your friends and family and adding your name to the register will only take a short amount of your time but it could save someone else’s life.
How to join the register
Register to DonateOrgan donation at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals
Here at our hospitals we have a clinical lead for organ donation, who is one of consultant anaesthetists, as well as two specialist nurses who are employed by NHS Blood and Transplant. They work with our staff and patients in providing education, support and advice.
