Donate an organ and give life
Last updated 19:23, Thursday, 30 October 2008
THE FAMILY of Theo Davies, the 14-month-old who died this month while waiting for a heart transplant, are urging everyone to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Theo, of Tithe Barn Street, Keswick, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that meant only one side of his heart was growing.
The brave little fighter, who was treated at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, sadly died before a donor could be found, but his family believe many lives could be saved if more people sign up to the national register.
His mother, Rebecca Giles, said: “I think everybody should consider it.
“There are a lot of people needing organs, and lots of people are dying while waiting for donors.”
Six people in the West Cumbria area have benefited from transplants since the start of April, while many more are waiting for a suitable donor to become available.
Two transplants were kidneys taken from individuals who died and had expressed a wish for their organs to be donated.
Three cornea transplants have taken place, and one of a sclera, which is the outer covering of the eyeball.
However, there are still 11 people waiting for kidney transplants in West Cumbria, and another two are currently classified as being suspended, which may mean they are too ill to undergo an operation or are away on holiday.
All are registered with the Freeman Hospital, which is the closest transplant centre to West Cumbria.
Sadly, one person in the area has died since April while waiting for a lung transplant.
One young man who has benefited from a donated kidney is 18-year-old Daymon Johnstone, of Seaton.
Mr Johnstone has won a host of sporting medals and plans to compete in squash at next year’s World Transplant Games in Australia.
He underwent a kidney transplant shortly before his sixth birthday, which meant he no longer had to have dialysis for 12 hours a day.
The NHS Organ Donor Register is a confidential, computerised database that carries the names and wishes of more than 15.6 million people, which is about a quarter of the British population.
All have indicated that they want to leave a legacy of life by donating their organs to help others after their death.
There are currently 16,760 people living in West Cumbria who are on the register.
Each year more than 3,000 people in the UK benefit from an organ transplant, but more than 9,000 require a transplant to save or dramatically improve their lives.
Around 1,000 people each year die before a suitable donated organ becomes available.
Maxine Walter, head of communications at the Organ Donation and Transplantation Directorate of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Not only does organ donation save lives, but donor families say it gives them some comfort to know that their loved one, although no longer with them, has helped to give life to someone else.”
Families are always consulted if there is a possibility of organ donation and relatives are far more likely to give consent if they know it is what their loved one wanted.
It is thought that many chances to save lives are lost simply because an individual does not get round to telling their loved ones of their wishes.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he favours the UK adopting an opt-out or presumed consent system similar to that used in other countries, and a report into this is due to be published later this year.
If you already carry a donor card, this does not mean you are registered as an organ donor, so you will still need to sign up.
More than seven million people have joined the register through the tick box scheme when applying for a driving licence, which is the most common method.
More than three million have joined by using the tick box on the form they fill in when registering with a new GP.
You can find out more about organ donation by calling the NHS Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400 or visiting UK Transplant’s website at www.uktransplant.org.uk, or by texting the word ‘GIVE’ to 84118.
