The team, who will be outside the Guildhall from 9am until 3pm, will include staff from the hospital’s transplant team,patients and donors, all of whom will be on hand to discuss becoming a donor and the transplant process.
It is estimated that almost 17 million people – a third of UK adults – admit they haven’t considered being an organ donor, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) reveals today. And, 4.1 million people who do want to donate their organs when they die say they haven’t talked to a loved one about that decision.*
Dr Keith McNeil, chief executive at CUH, said: “Quite simply to save more lives we need more people to sign up to become organ donors.
“We also need organ donation to be high on the list of important personal conversations we routinely have with loved ones.”
On CUH’s waiting list there are:
- 160 people waiting for a kidney
- 20 people waiting for a kidney and pancreas
- 58 people waiting for a liver, and
- 3 people waiting for a bowel
The internationally acclaimed Cambridge Transplant Centre has become one of the largest transplant centres in the UK. In addition to more than 160 kidney transplants performed annually, the transplant team also performs 20-30 combined kidney/pancreas transplants, 80 liver transplants, and an increasing number of intestinal and multi-organ transplants each year.
Last year the number of people donating organs fell for the first time in 11 years. The UK also has one of the lowest rates in Europe for families consenting to organ donation and in 2014/15 only 58% agreed to donate their family members’ organs after they died.
NHS Blood and Transplant wants to get the whole nation talking about organ donation this National transplant Week and the importance of sharing decisions on being an organ donor with family and close friends. The Seven Days to Say Yes Say I Donate campaign aims to help break down barriers and taboos around organ donation.
The National Transplant Week survey found that, as a nation, we are happy to talk about many personal topics, yet we are avoiding conversations that could mean the difference between life and death for someone in need of an organ transplant:
- 7 in 10 adults have told a loved one how they would spend a lottery win
- Almost two thirds have discussed their preference for burial or cremation
- Nearly half have confided the part of their body they would most like to change
- 47% have shared destinations they dream of travelling to before they die
Even among those who want to be organ donors, there is reluctance to talk about the subject - with key reasons being discomfort around talking about death and not wanting to upset family members.
Reluctance to talk about organ donation means many healthy organs that could be donated aren’t used.
Of those who have had a conversation about organ donation with a loved one an overwhelming 93% said it was an easy conversation to have - although nearly a quarter (23%) admitted that chat was over five years ago.
For more information go to and to get involved in the campaign:
- Go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk to find out more information
- Show your support for organ donation on social media during National Transplant Week by posting about your conversations using #sayidonate
- Twitter @nhsorgandonor #sayidonate
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/organdonationUK
- Instagram @nhsorgandonor
- Youtube: /www.youtube.com/user/nhsorgandonation
*Populus interviewed a random sample of 2,072 UK adults aged 18+ by online survey between 5-6th August 2015. Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Populus is a founder member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at www.populus.co.uk.
- When asked ‘Do you want to donate your organs after death’ 50% of all respondents answered yes, 16% no, 11% never thought about it and 23% don’t know.
- Respondents who said they want to be organ donors, both those who have joined the Organ Donor Register and those who have not were asked if they have told a loved one about their decision. Of those on the Organ Donor Register, 9% said they had not told a loved one, and of those not on the Organ Donor Register, 47% said they had not told a loved one.
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NHS Blood and Transplant
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a joint England and Wales Special Health Authority. Its remit includes the provision of a reliable, efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS in England and North Wales. It is also the organ donor organisation for the whole of the UK and is responsible for matching and allocating donated organs.
- 21.1 million people in the UK have already signed onto the NHS Organ Donor Register. These people have joined the Register to record their decision to donate organs and/or tissue after their death for transplantation. This information is used by authorised medical staff to establish whether a person wanted to donate. A newly build ODR has just been launched in the UK. This also gives registrants the option to register a decision not to donate their organs or to nominate others to make the decision for them after their death.
- It’s simple to join the ODR by:
- going to www.organdonation.nhs.uk
- ringing 0300 123 23 23
- Anyone can register on the ODR. Age isn’t a barrier to being an organ or tissue donor and neither are most medical conditions. People in their 70s and 80s have become donors and saved many lives.
- One donor can save or transform up to 9 lives and many more can be helped through the donation of tissues.
Contacts
PR & Communications
Adrian Ient, Senior Media Relations Manager,
Communications Department, Box 146
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ
Tel: 01223 274433
Email: adrian.ient@addenbrookes.nhs.uk or press@addenbrookes.nhs.uk
Or
Nicola Dowlen, Communications Manager,
Tel: 01223 257143
Email: nicola.dowlen@addenbrookes.nhs.uk