People urged to join register as thousands wait for transplant

In Scotland there are 4,345 people currently alive thanks to organ donors and their families, yet despite 45 % of the Scottish population having joined the organ donor register 580 people are still waiting for a life-saving transplant.

Each donor can help up to nine people.

NHS Tayside said everyone should sign up to the register, even if they think they may be unsuitable.

Dr Stephen Cole, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, said: “One organ donor can save or transform up to nine lives so we really need everybody to sign the register.

“Lots of people think they would be unsuitable to donate organs and tissues because of medical history or lifestyle choices, but each potential donor is individually assessed and we need people from all ethnicities and backgrounds to register.

“Joining the organ donor register takes about two minutes but those two minutes could quite literally save a life.”

A spokeswoman for Organ Donation Scotland said: “Dionne’s story is incredible, and I’m sure she’ll enjoy tucking into her first Christmas dinner in a decade.

“It’s a powerful reminder of the precious gift of donation – both from living donors and from those who donate organs or tissue after death.

“At any one time more than 500 people in Scotland are waiting for the organ transplant they desperately need, so we encourage everyone to tell their family they want to donate after their death and join the NHS Organ Donor Register.”

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Joining the organ donor register takes two minutes