Staff at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are raising awareness of organ donation this Valentine’s Day with a campaign encouraging people to start conversations about registering to be an organ donor.
The campaign is entitled “keep hearts beating this Valentine’s Day” and is an opportunity to raise awareness of organ donation, encourage people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register; and encourage people to talk about organ donation with their loved ones.
The campaign also encourages people to share photos of them making a heart shape or a beating heart video / boomerang and share the reasons why they donate on social media. It is hoped that this will encourage conversations and get people thinking about the importance of organ donation.
Ben Armstrong, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “It amazes me how a person coming to the end of their life can then go on to help others through organ and tissue donation. The fact that a single donor has the potential to save up to 8 people’s lives and a single tissue donor may enhance the lives of up to 50 people truly keeps me motivated to do my job.”
5,955 people are waiting for a transplant in the UK currently with 112 on the active transplant list in Lancashire.
Becoming an organ donor only takes a few minutes if you register online, but can bring a lifetime of health and happiness to those who are waiting for a transplant. 574,572 people are currently on the NHS Organ Donor Register in Lancashire.
Pav Akhtar, Public Governor at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, who also chairs the Organ Donations Committee, said: “We are so grateful to every individual, and their families, who have helped keep hearts beating through organ donation.”
“Nine out of ten families agree to support donation if their relative is on the NHS Organ Donor Register. The register provides
clarity and enables more lifesaving transplants.”
“If a family knows that their relative wanted to save lives and was on the Register it can be so much easier for them to support this. If their relative had not registered, the family is still approached about donation and asked to make a decision at a difficult time on their relative’s behalf.”
“So, we urge people who support the lifesaving power of organ donation to join the NHS Organ Donor Register and tell their families they want to donate.” You can find out more information and register to be an organ donor at https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/.
Share your heart photos and videos to start conversations about organ donation using the hashtag #keepheartsbeating.