11 people in Harrogate district on transplant waiting list
Residents across the Harrogate district are being encouraged to talk to relatives about whether they want to donate their organs after they die.
Figures from NHS England show there are currently 11 people in the Harrogate district on the waiting list for an organ donation.
But this could change, and more lives could be saved if people told family members of their wishes.
Dr Sarah Marsh, Clinical Lead for Organ Donation at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, says: "Fewer than half of families agree to donation going ahead if they didn't know about their loved ones decision to become a donor, but this rises to over 90 per cent if the decision to be a donor is known about. So it's very important that your family know what you would want and wouldn't want."
In the district this year, 55 people have received life saving or life changing transplants and there are over 87,000 registered organ donors.
The organ donation law changed in May this year, meaning that all adults in England will be considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they record a decision not to donate - what’s known as ‘opt out’ - or are in one of the excluded groups.
What many don’t realise is that loved ones will still be involved in the donation decision, and if they don’t know what their relative wanted, the donation may not go ahead.
But it is thought the change in the law could be responsible for an increase in the number of people receiving a lifesaving organ donation.
Dr Marsh, added: "From a national perspective, in July we had the highest number of donors and the highest number of transplants in the last decade.
"Despite the whole pandemic, we've seen there is an incredible improvement in donations and transplants.
“The change in law will allow more people to save more lives, but it is so important you still consider what you would want to happen if something happened to you, and to share your donation wishes with your family."