National Transplant Week!

Today is the start of National Transplant week, and as this is a very important issue to me I thought that I would follow the example of several of my friends and do a blog post about it.  One day I may well need a double lung transplant due to my CF so I am always keen to raise awareness of the shortness of donor organs. To start with here are a few facts about organ donation:

• You are more likely to need a transplant than become a donor.
• You can donate kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, pancreas and small bowel - saving up to 9 lives
• Corneal tissue can give someone eyesight
• You can choose not to donate particular organs/tissues
• 94% people agree with donations, 96% would accept an organ - but only 28% are on the register
• 8000 people in the UK are waiting for transplants but less than 3000 are carried out each year

I've always found the figures about transplant rather depressing.  I know that so many people when asked say "yes I would donate my organs"  -so why are they not on the list???? I really get annoyed when people make daft excuses, like they've not got round to it yet...Well why not???? It is so easy to register and takes just a few seconds to register online. Here is a link if you have not already registered-

http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/

You could also consider donating blood, without which many operations, including transplants, would not be able to take place.  I have several friends who have received transplants and when you see just how much difference a new organ can make to someones life then you would not hesitate to join the register. Even tho some of my organs can't be used for transplant (for obvious reasons!) I'm still on the donor register as someone who needs them is welcome to the whichever of them can be used, when I've finished with them or course...

If you are wondering whether or not you should join the donor register then just ask yourself one question- Would you accept a transplant?  If the answer is yes, then you should join the register. It is not exactly ethical to accept someone else's gift if you are not prepared to be generous in return.