Trust fleet rolls out to promote Organ Donation Week

David Hadgraft, Transport Co-ordinator; Keely Hart, Specialist Nurse Organ Donation; Dr Andrew Drummond, Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, all from The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

In support of national Organ Donation Week, which runs 5 to 11 September, twenty four Trust vehicles have been branded and rolled out to help spread the word about the importance of signing up to the Organ Donor Register.

In all 13 VW Caddy vans, six VW Transporters, three minibuses and two tail lift lorries have all been branded with the ‘yes I donate’ organ donation slogan and contact details. They will spread the message as they travel between the Trust’s four hospitals and hopefully encourage people to sign up.

Every day across the UK around three people die whilst waiting for a life saving organ transplant and there are currently 6,500 people waiting for a transplant.

As well spreading the word through its fleet the Trust, which runs North Manchester General Hospital, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, Rochdale Infirmary and community services, will be making it easier for patients, staff and visitors to sign up to the Organ Donor Register, by having links available on its staff intranet and public website. Leaflets will also be available in the main reception of each hospital.

The Trust’s Organ Donation Committee would particularly like all Pennine Acute Hospitals staff to consider what their own wishes would be when they pass away. Anyone who wants to make a real difference by being an organ donor after their death can join the Organ Donor Register (www.organdonation.nhs.uk//register-to-donate/) and should also talk about their decision with family and friends.

Keely Hart, Specialist Nurse Organ Donation at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: 
“One donor can save or transform up to nine lives through organ donation and many families take huge comfort in knowing that their relative has saved the lives of others. Anyone can join the NHS Organ Donor Register, age and medical conditions are not necessarily a barrier to donation.

“Most people say they would accept a transplant, if they needed one, so we would like people to think about their own wishes and make them known by registering the Organ Donor Register and letting their loved ones know. That conversation is very important because if those closest to you do not know your wish, then it may come as a shock and they could find it more difficult to support what you want in the future.

“The UK still has one of the lowest rates of consent in Europe. NHS Blood and Transplant, the organisation responsible for organ donation in the UK, urges families to talk about organ donation so more families are prepared to donate their relative’s organs if asked to do so.”

This year the theme of national Organ Donation Week is “turn an end into a beginning.” The national campaign is to encourage everyone to have a conversation about their donation wishes at the end of an event, whether big or small. It could be as big as a football club holding a discussion when the whistle blows or a family talking at the end of a meal or favourite TV programme.

It is hoped that these conversations will result in more people deciding that they want to turn their own end into a beginning for someone else; by signing up to the Organ Donation Register.

For more information about organ donation please visit the Organ Donation website: www.organdonation.nhs.uk