Health

Health

NHSBT is asking members of the public to take part in its first online survey to test people’s motivations in joining the NHS Organ Donor Register. Have your say here: www.uktransplant.org.uk

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) welcomes the Government’s call for more people across the country to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register. This call from Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, came in response to the Taskforce report recommending that an opt-out system for organ donation should not be introduced in the UK at this time.

The Taskforce concludes instead that full implementation of the major changes outlined in its first report in January 2008 can deliver a 50% increase in organ donor numbers by 2013. Work is already underway on these changes and one element is to run a sustained, high-profile public campaign to raise awareness and understanding about organ donation.*

In order to help shape this campaign, NHSBT is asking members of the public to take part in a short online survey at www.uktransplant.org.uk In the build-up to the campaign, this initial survey will test people’s motivations in joining the NHS Organ Donor Register and, crucially, current barriers to doing so.

The need to address prevalent misconceptions about organ donation will be an important factor in the campaign. These include the common (but incorrect) belief that older people can’t be organ donors. Education in schools about all types of donation – of organs, blood, bone marrow and tissues – is also integral to encouraging the donors of the future. NHSBT has recently issued a substantially revised version of its educational programme – “Give and Let Live” – to secondary schools across the country.

Lynda Hamlyn, Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “With nearly 16 million people registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register, there is no question about the level of altruism among the general public. We see this day after day with people whose generosity in donating organs and blood enables many lives to be saved and improved every year.

“Nevertheless, there remains an urgent need to address the gap between the number of people waiting for an organ transplant and those receiving one. The Government’s public commitment to organ donation and support for the necessary changes underway has marked a watershed in our ability to marshal the necessary resources behind the much-needed increase in rates of organ donation and transplantation in the UK.”

NHSBT encourage you to have your say with their first online survey that measures public opinion. Visit www.uktransplant.org.uk and take part today.

There are currently almost 16 million people on the Organ Donor Register. If you would like to add your name, please ring 0845 60 60 400 or go to www.uktransplant.org.uk