Family’s plea for you to join organ register
A DESPERATE family is pleading with people to sign their petition to boost the number of lifesaving organ donors across the UK.
Sarah Meredith, 29, urgently needs a new liver. She suffers from cystic fibrosis and takes wonder drug Kaftrio after a Daily Express campaign to get it on the NHS.
Her family want a Westminster debate over the vetoing of organ donation by relatives following the death of a loved one.
A legal change last year made all adults in England potential donors when they die unless they opt out.
But since the start of “presumed consent” in May 2020, a third of next-of-kin families prevented donations the new law was meant to allow – even if the deceased person had not opted out.
Yet when a loved one had elected to sign the NHS Organ Donor Register, 93 per cent of families gave it their blessing.
So, despite the new law, it has never been more important to sign the donor register or let relatives know your wishes. The Daily Express is supporting the Merediths’ petition and urges readers to join the 26 million people already on the register to help 6,120 sick patients.
The family, from Totnes in Devon, want Government forms – such as DVLA applications – to ask people to be donors and whether next of kin can overrule the decision.
Sarah’s sister Jess,
34, said: “Sarah has never had the opportunity of good health. She faces inevitable decline and won’t make it unless we can find her a liver. I have always fought for Sarah, she is my only sibling and we are very close.
“If people could see the suffering of children and adults on the transplant list, they would not hesitate to donate organs – nor would families prevent them. “People can help by signing the petition. Many people we speak to are proud to be registered donors, but often do not realise families can block that.” The sisters’ mum Cathy, 66, said: “Sarah’s beautiful smile is the brave face she displays if you meet her but conceals a life of suffering. “Kaftrio has had a dramatic effect on the lung symptoms of CF. But Sarah has additional issues and has been told she has end-stage liver disease.
“So please be a hero – sign our petition, join the donor register and please tell your family.”
Last year 474 patients died waiting for a transplant – the previous year it was 372. One donor can save several lives, donating up to nine organs and tissue.
In July 2017, at the age of nine, Kiera Ball died in a car crash on the North Devon Link Road and her heart was donated to save 10-year-old Max Johnson.
This saw the creation of the OptOut rule, which was dubbed “Max and Keira’s Law” in England.
Maria Caulfield, Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care, said: “The Daily Express campaign is an important reminder to register your organ donation decision.”
To sign the NHS Organ Donor Register, visit organdonation.nhs. uk or call 0300 123 23 23. To sign Meredith’s petition, visit petition. parliament.uk/petitions/601067