#WeNeedEverybody

It’s Organ Donation Week and people across Scotland are being urged to make it count by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

One person every day in the UK dies waiting on an organ transplant, and the need for more donors is clear. This Organ Donation Week (5-11 September) Organ Donation Scotland have launched the #WeNeedEverybody campaign, to highlight the fact that although 43% of Scots are on the NHS Organ Donor Register, the more people that join, the more lives can be saved.  

To join the organ donor register, simply visit www.weneedeverybody.org and fill in the registration form.

 

Did you know?

• Every day in the UK, someone dies waiting on an organ transplant
• There are 540 people in Scotland waiting on a life-saving transplant
• People in need of a transplant can spend years on the waiting list, enduring debilitating breathlessness, lethargy, and long periods of dialysis and hospitalisation
• Increasing registrations is vital, as less than one per cent of deaths in Scotland happen in circumstances where the person is actually able to donate their organs
• Currently, 43 per cent of the population in Scotland is on the NHS Organ Donor Register – however the more people that join, the more lives that can be saved

Graham Fraser underwent a liver transplant in April, and is backing the Week in the hope that more people like him can be saved.

Speaking about his donor, Graham said:

“I owe that person everything. Their decision has given me and perhaps two or three other people a second chance at life. Because of that selfless decision, I got to walk my daughter down the aisle and hopefully have years of good health ahead of me. It’s unbelievable what organ donors do for others, and I just hope their families can draw some comfort from that through their grief. 

“Anyone who joins the Register can give the gift of life. It’s important people understand the huge difference it can make.  If you support organ donation, take the time to join today.”

So don’t put it off. Wrinkly ones, lean ones, spare tyre ones, pretty ones, big ones – we need every body to join the NHS Organ Donor Register now.

Visit weneedeverybody.org