‘You can be a help to us over 50 and even to 80’
A TOP NHS boss has urged more over-50s to be donors.
Sally Johnson, director of organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said older people should not rule themselves out.
She said while 24 million people have registered to be donors, there is still a shortage and you can donate up to age 80.
Ms Johnson said: “Half a million die every year in the UK but only about 5,000 die in circumstances where they can be organ donors.
INSURANCE
“That’s why we need everyone to be prepared to donate. It’s like insurance.
“If you are ready to pay in if it comes to the time if you need a transplant, you are more likely to get one.”
Ms Johnson, speaking to mark Organ Donation week, added: “You can use organs of people well over 50, certainly up to 80. Our message to over-50s is not to rule themselves out.”
The Mirror’s Change the Law for Life campaign is calling on England to follow Wales and Scotland by introducing an opt-out law on organ donation.
Welcoming our drive, Ms Johnson said: “It’s great when newspapers like the Mirror start featuring organ donation. Whether they are campaigning for opt-in or opt-out, they are getting people talking about it.”