Organ Donation, BodyDonation, Tissue Donation.
Successful organ donation relies upon the right people being informed immediately (or as soon as possible after a person dies). This is why it is so important that your family know your wished and you have joined the Organ Donor Register (which is really easy and much better than just carrying a card).They need to inform the healthcare professionals who are involved with your care: a member of the hospital staff, a police officer, coroner’s officer or GP that you wanted to help other people by donating organs. The earlier you are able to tell staff, the more likely it is that donation can take place and lots of people benefit.
Can the family object to organ donation?
Most families will agree to donation if they knew that itwas their loved one’s wish. If they were not aware, it can come as something of a shock, perhaps provoking a negative reaction. If the family, or those closest to the person who has died, object to the donation when the person who has died has given their explicit permission, either by telling relatives, close friends or clinical staff, or by carrying a donor card or registering their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register, healthcare professionals will discuss the matter sensitively with them.They will be encouraged to accept the dead person’s wishes and it will be made clear that they do not have the legal right to veto or overrule those wishes. There may, nevertheless, be cases where it would be inappropriate for donation to go ahead.So please contact the Organ Donor Register and make sure your family and close friends are aware that you have -peoplle don’t always behave logically when a loved one dies, and your donation could transform as many as nine lives.There were 1,212 deceased donors during 2012/3. Of those, just 464 (38%) were on the NHS Organ Donor Register.It’s simple to join the NHS Organ Donor Register by:
- going to www.organdonation.nhs.uk.
- ringing 0300 123 23 23
- texting SAVE to 62323.
Anyone can register on the Organ Donor Register. Age isn’t a barrier to being an organ or tissue donor and neither are most medical conditions.About 7,000 people are on the waiting list and many more in are in serious need an organ transplant. If everyone joined the Register, the agony of being on the waiting list could be a thing of the past for many.
Donation of organs
For more information about organ donation and transplantation, contact:NHS Organ Donor RegisterNHS Blood and TransplantOrgan Donation and Transplantation DirectorateFox Den Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS34 8RROrgan Donor Line: 0300 123 2323 (24 hours a day, every day)E-mail: en*******@*******hs.ukWebsite: www.organdonation.nhs.uk
Donation of the body for medical education or research.
You can leave your body for medical education or research, but arrangements must be made before you die and you really must tell your relatives. On death, relatives should contact the Human Tissue Authority who will advise on what should be done. Where a body is accepted (and many are not suitable) the medical school will arrange for eventual cremation or burial. Contact:Human Tissue Authority, 2nd Floor, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, LondonSW1W 9SZTel: 020 7269 1900 Fax: 020 7269 1999 E-mail: en*******@*****ov.uk.