8,000 South west lives saved through Organ Donation
This week marks 30 years since the Organ Donor Register was created
People across the South West are being urged to think about organ donation this week (23rd to 29th September).
The scheme is celebrating its 30th anniversary, with over 8,000 lives being saved in our region since then.
More than 2.8 million people in the South West have also declared their willingness to donate their organs after death.
Lucy's story
Lucy Ryan’s life was saved by a heart transplant when she was a baby and she is still feeling well more than 30 years later.
34 year old Lucy grew up in Winterslow and spent a few years in Salisbury before moving to Salford, Greater Manchester, where she is studying and working.
She says: “Luckily, I received my heart transplant quickly in spring 1993. I don’t remember much but I do have a vague memory of lying on my parent’s bed, sleeping or resting, and then being rushed off in an ambulance for my transplant.
“I have been very lucky; I wouldn’t be here without my heart transplant. Thirty-one years later I am here, very fit and well, currently about to enter my third and final year of a Theatre and Performance Practice undergraduate degree at the University of Salford. This can be quite a physical degree, so not only am I doing well to keep up with those fifteen years my junior, but over three decades post-transplant.
“I have moved around the country, held multiple jobs at the same time, socialised with friends and family, travelled to Australia, Canada and other places and competed in the British and World Transplant Games.
“My highlights of the last 31 years are definitely competing in Australia at an international level, going to Canada last month with university, being able to be busy with study and work and just being able to do normal, everyday things with my family and friends – go for meals, catch up – the things we sometimes take for granted.
“I don’t think I can put into words how grateful I am to my donor and their incredible family. Without them, I simply wouldn’t be alive today.
“Amazingly the Organ Donor Register is younger than my transplant but great it has been around for 30 years, saving lives. I hope marking the anniversary raises awareness of organ donation and the difference it makes. If you’re in favour of donation then you can sign up to the Organ Donor Register – it only takes two minutes. Last but not least don’t forget to share your wishes with your loved ones.”
Lucy campaigned for many years for the Organ Donation Register to become an opt-out system, where it's assumed that people consent to donation unless they explicitly state otherwise.
In the South West, 261 patients received a lifesaving transplant from a deceased donor last year and 155 residents donated their organs after death.
But the waiting list for a transplant in the UK is higher than ever before, with 593 patients in the region still actively waiting for a lifesaving organ.
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, at NHS Blood and Transplant, said:
“Every day across the UK there are thousands of patients and their families, waiting for that all important life-saving call. Yet, this is often only possible as a result of another family receiving some of the hardest news they might ever have to hear.
“The change in the law now means that it’s assumed that when someone dies in circumstances where they could be a donor, that they agree to donate if they haven’t officially opted out. However, no-one is automatically added to the Organ Donor Register. You still need to confirm your own decision and your family will still be consulted before donation goes ahead and will be expected to support your decision.
“With 593 patients in the South West waiting for organ transplants, it’s more important than ever to register your organ donation decision and make it known to your family.”
For more information, or to register your organ donation decision, please visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.
NHS app users in England can also use the service to record, check or update their organ donation decision.