Organ Donation

Recently in the news, there have been stories of how a record number of lives have been saved as organ donor numbers in the UK rise. According to the Guardian, 3,489 patients received new body parts from a total of 1,323 donors last year. This is wonderful news, and these figures also strongly highlight the fact that organ donors help to save multiple lives. However, despite these promising figures, the sad fact remains that 3 people die every day whilst waiting for a transplant and there is still a huge shortage of organs.

Currently in the UK for example, there are 244 people waiting for a heart transplant. 30 of these are children. There are 268 people waiting for a lung transplant, including 11 children. And the number of those waiting for a heart and lung transplant amounts to 18, of which 3 are children. One of those 18 is Stacie Pridden, a wonderful young lady whose blog I had the pleasure of stumbling upon whilst recovering from surgery. Stacie is such an inspiration, and reading the stories she tells on her blog has given me such an insight to what life is like on the waiting list. Stacie has now been waiting almost 2 years for her transplant and yet she always seems to be smiling. I strongly recommend visiting her blog (click here), and if reading this incredible young woman's words can't persuade you to join the organ donor register, I don't know what will. 

The fabulous Stacie

Another incredibly brave little boy that I know of is only 5 years old yet has spent a large part of his life in hospital. This little boy was born healthy, but a virus stole his health when he was just 1 week old. He is now in heart failure and is currently living at Great Ormond Street Hospital, having been waiting for a heart transplant for over a year. This journey has been incredibly difficult for his family and I can't even comprehend what they are currently going through. This little boy's mum has been living in London too, but this means that she must be away from her 3 other children for long periods of time. Receiving that call would save this little boy's life, but it would also vastly improve the lives of the whole of that incredible family. 

Sign the register today

Another very important person that I'd like to write about is the incredible Mum of one of my very best friends, Chloe. Chloe's beautiful Mum, Yvonne, sadly and very unexpectedly passed away last summer due to a brain haemorrhage. It all seemed to happen very fast and was so completely out of the blue - I'll never forget the shock and disbelief I felt when I read Chloe's message to tell us that her Mum wouldn't make it. I still can't fully appreciate what Chloe and her family must have gone through during this terrible time, but even when it must have felt like their whole world had been turned upside down, they agreed to honour Yvonne's wishes of donating her organs. Chloe told me that her family received a letter some time after to inform them that Yvonne was able to donate her liver to a man in his fifties who has a wife and a son, her kidney to a man in his thirties, and her lungs to lady with a husband and some children. So as well as directly saving 3 people's lives, Yvonne's donations will have also enhanced the lives of all those families. Multiple children are still able to kiss their parent goodnight in the evenings because of Yvonne. A man was spared the agony of losing his soul mate before her time thanks to this amazing woman. Yvonne gave the ultimate gift - the gift of life. I can't think of a more commendable legacy to leave behind. 

The wonderful Yvonne and beautiful Chloe

I can also count myself amongst those whose life has been improved by someone's admirable decision to donate. On the 5th December 2013, I had a new valved conduit put into my heart to combat my pulmonary stenosis (the narrowing of my pulmonary valve). This conduit is made from homograft tissue - another human's donated tissue. This conduit replaced a similar one that had been placed there 14 years previously, and so twice in my life, my health has been greatly improved by a selfless donor. Without the conduit, my heart would not be functioning well at all, as it a channel to vitally supply blood to my lungs. So organ donation is therefore something that is very close to my heart - quite literally.

Diagram of a Right Ventricle to Pulmonary Artery conduit

The people that I have talked about throughout this post are real people, not just statistics. Signing up to the organ donor register can literally save lives. After having done so, remember that it is also important to discuss your intentions with your loved ones. If ever the situation arose where you were eligible to donate, it will be your relatives that NHS staff discuss your wishes with after your death. According to a BBC News article, around 4 in 10 families initially refuse permission for organ donations, but that number drops to just 1 in 20 if the donor has previously signed the register and made their wishes known. 

You are also much more likely to need a transplant than to donate. If it came to it, would you accept a donated organ for yourself or a relative? If the answer is yes, then you should also be willing to donate. Please, please, please sign up here today.