Four KGH patients save 15 lives thanks to organ donation

Four patients at KGH who agreed to donate their organs helped save the lives of 15 people.

The NHS releases the figures as part of its annual transplant activity report to show how important every organ donation is.

In the UK, 1,580 people donated their organs after they died last year and saved or improved the lives of 3,760 people who received transplants.

Four of those donors were at KGH and their decision meant 15 people waiting for a transplant received an organ.

Shirley Newman, chairman of KGH organ and tissue donation committee, said: "We wanted to take this opportunity to remind people of just how important donation is in saving lives and to underline how important it is to please tell your family that you want to support donation.

"Letting your family know that you want to save lives will make it much easier if there comes a time when organ donation is a possibility."

The NHS's annual transplant activity report shows that organ donation figures were on course to surpass last year's total, but the global pandemic has had a huge impact on the NHS and caused a decline in transplants.

Shirley Newman said: "Like every trust, we have been affected by Covid-19 and the decline in organ donation over the past few months.

"However, as our clinical lead for organ donation, Dr Pawan Kumar, has pointed out, KGH has achieved a higher than national average of organs used per donor. Hence out of the four actual donors, 15 patients received life-saving donations."

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation for NHS blood and transplant said: "We're incredibly grateful to our dedicated colleagues at KGH and all the courageous donors and their families who worked with us to support and help us save so many lives last year.

"Organ donation is the only hope for many desperately ill people.

"We know many families feel a sense of pride and comfort from their decision to let their relative's final act to be saving lives through organ donation.

"No life-saving transplant would be possible without the generosity of every donor and their families, who give their support and say 'yes' to organ donation."

England has now moved to an opt-out system for organ donation with the introduction of Max and Keira's law, which came into affect on May 20, 2020.

It means you can choose not to be an organ donor, and your family will still be involved before organ donation goes ahead, but it is hoped the opt-out system will help organ donations increase.

You can find out more and register your decision at www.organdonation.nhs.uk.

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