“I’m so grateful to my donors", more than 5000 lives in Wales saved through organ donation
In Wales, 154 patients received a transplant from a deceased donor last year and 65 residents donated their organs after death.
Last updated 25th Sep 2024
Since the creation of the NHS Organ Donor Register in 1994, more than 100,000 people in the UK had their lives saved by an organ transplant, including more than 10,000 people in the Wales.
In Wales, 154 patients received a transplant from a deceased donor last year and 65 residents donated their organs after death.
The waiting list for a transplant in the UK is higher than ever before, with 270 patients in the country still actively waiting for an organ.
Tracy Jayne Baker Griffiths BEM, a civil servant from Baglan in Port Talbot, has received two kidney transplants in her lifetime.
Tracy, who is now 47 years old, was diagnosed with reflux nephropathy which led her to receiving her first transplant at the age of 11 and her second at the age of 30.
She said:
“I was devastated when I found out that my first kidney had failed.
"I knew I had to go on dialysis, it kept me alive, but it restricts your life.
"When I got the second transplant I was chuffed because I knew the life I could live from having a transplant.
“Without a transplant I would’ve been stuck on dialysis for five days a week and not have been able to go on holidays or if I did go on holidays, it would’ve looked very different.
"Dialysis restricts you from everything and your body isn’t functioning as it should be. I know what a successful transplant can do.
“I’m so grateful to my donors for giving me a new lease of life.
"I wouldn’t be here without them, without what they’ve done.
"They’ve allowed me to work full-time, to go to the transplant games. I wouldn’t have my children if they hadn’t done this selfless act.
"If they were in front of me, I would hug them. There are no words for what they’ve done. I’d give them a real Welsh hug.
“Organ donors have given so many people a new lease of life. If it was for my organ donations, I couldn’t achieve everything I’ve done in my life and I’m so grateful for their generosity and giving me my life back.”
Only around 1% of people who die in the UK every year are usually able to donate their organs after death according to Public Health Wales.
Donors are typically those who have died in a hospital intensive care unit or emergency department due to brain injuries, cardiac arrest, or other trauma.
To celebrate Organ Donation Week, people are being encouraged to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.