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This Organ Donation Week (23 – 29 September) NHS Blood & Transplant and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are celebrating the fact that the NHS Organ Donor Register has been saving lives for 30 years through the gift of organ donation.

Since its creation in 1994, thousands of lives have been saved thanks to people agreeing to donate their organs after death by confirming their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.  

However, more people than ever before are in need for a life-saving transplant across the UK, with more than 7,600 people on the active waiting list, including 63 in Worcestershire – so it’s vital that people confirm their organ donation decision to save lives. 

Nearly 280,000 people in Worcestershire have already declared their decision through the NHS Organ Donor Register, which is the best way for their family to know what they want. Nine out of 10 families say they will support organ donation if their loved one has confirmed their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

With the law changing around organ donation, it is important to remember that it is assumed that when someone dies in the circumstances where they could be a donor, that they agree to donate if they haven’t officially opted out. However, no-one is automatically added to the Organ Donor Register. You still need to confirm your decision and your family will be consulted before donation goes ahead.  

Rebecca Hurley, Organ Donation Specialist Nurse for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Confirming your decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register makes it clear to your family that you want to be an organ donor, leaving them certain of your decision at what is a difficult and emotional time. We need more people in Worcestershire to confirm their decision on the register today in order to save more lives now and in the future.”

The Organ Donor Register was set up to promote organ donation and allow people to record their decision to donate. It was the result of a five-year campaign by John Cox and his daughter Christine after their son and brother, Peter, died in 1989. He had asked for his organs to be used to help others. 

Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Thanks to the support of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust during Organ Donation Week, we can get the message across to more people that organ donation saves lives. Every day across the UK thousands of patients and their families are waiting for a life-saving call. But this can often only happen as a result of another family receiving very difficult news and supporting organ donation to help others.

“Thanks to the Cox family’s relentless campaigning the NHS Organ Donor Register has potentially saved the lives of thousands of people. This is an incredible legacy for Peter, and we are so very grateful to the whole Cox family for their tireless work over the years which made this possible. With more people, both adults and children, waiting for transplants, it’s more important than ever to confirm your organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. We urge everyone to take a moment this Organ Donation Week to register and confirm your decision.”

To find out more and confirm your decision, visit the NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk.

Users of the NHS app can also use this to record, check or amend their details or decision.