Take time to think on organ donation

I am writing to you today to let you and your readers know that this week is Organ Donation Week and there has never been a more important time to talk about organ donation. Currently in Somerset there are 42 people waiting in need of a kidney transplant.

There are usually around 5,000 adults and children in need of a transplant in the UK but due to the pandemic and the impact this has had on the number of transplants that have been carried out - as well as the number of people too poorly to be able to have a transplant - this number has now increased to around 10,000 (7,000 who are actively waiting, and an additional 3,000 who are in need of a transplant but are currently suspended2 from the transplant list).

We are the UK’S leading kidney patient support charity and see every single day the life changing impact that a kidney transplant can have one someone’s life.

You are more likely to need a transplant yourself than you are to become an organ donor because only 1% of people who die do so in a way that allows organ donation.

If you do nothing else this week, please think about what you would like to happen to your organs when you die and take a couple of minutes to register your decision and let your loved ones know.

Fiona Loud

Policy Director at Kidney Care UK