12 organ donors at Barrow hospital over five years

RELATED ARTICLE:   Campaign urges one in three in Cumbria to decide to donate organs

Each of the donors helped to save countless lives when they died at Barrow’s Furness General Hospital between 2010 and this year by gifting their organs to those on the transplant list.

But the figure has been described as too low by organ donor campaigners in the area when set against the 68 people in Cumbria on the transplant waiting list.

Ulverston restaurant owner Ross Saunders had a kidney transplant from a car crash victim 15 years ago and is urging people join the organ donor register JON GRANGER Successful Ulverston businessman Ross Saunders, 35, who received a kidney from the victim of a car accident when he was just 20, claimed he was surprised the number was not higher.

Mr Saunders, who runs the town’s Ristorante Rossini, in Queen Street, said a new opt-out donation system could save extra lives.

“Sat in a dialysis chair for five or six hours gives you a lot of time to contemplate your situation, to evaluate the injustice, to dream of an alternative and to calculate the statistics and likelihood of obtaining a transplant.

“Knowing there are perfectly good organs being destroyed due to misunderstanding or irrational decision making, was frustrating.

“Eighteen months later it did happen, through the kind generosity and progressive thinking of the victim of a car crash.”

Now Mr Saunders has urged people to take a few minutes to join the organ donor register.

“At the time of a sudden death, there’s no time to negotiate or be indecisive,” he added.

“It has to be a proactive decision made with clarity of mind.

“Until we change to the ‘presumed consent’ method of donation, it is vital for people like me that everybody takes part in this conversation and makes their wishes crystal clear.”

A total of 19 people in the county had their lives transformed last year thanks to an organ donation.
TELL PEOPLE Donor campaigner Jenny Brumby

Leading organ donation campaigner and Millom resident Jenny Brumby, who is spearheading a move to ensure her home town becomes the first donor community in the country, said the figure of 12 end of life donors at the region’s hospital in five years was “appalling”.

“It’s as important to let people know what you would want if something happened as signing the register itself,” Mrs Brumby said.

“You also need to tell more than one person – they would have to give permission if something happened.”

Mrs Brumby, whose mother fulfilled her wish to become an organ donor when she died aged 60, added: “It’s a very difficult process for anyone to go through for their loved one, but knowing their wishes have helped people is worth it afterwards.”

There are 6,908 people in the UK awaiting a transplant.

Statistics from the National Organ Donation Service show 3,339 patients benefitted from a transplant throughout 2014/15 from 1,282 people.

In Barrow, there are more than 11,000 people already signed up to the organ donor register.

But the most senior clinician at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust – the body that runs FGH – said very few people who die in hospital are suitable to become an organ donor.

Dr David Walker, UHMBT medical director, said: “Becoming an organ donor can save or greatly enhance the lives of other people.

“Within the LA14 postcode area, there are 11,208 people on the organ donor register.

“Despite this figure, unfortunately, there are only a small percentage of people who die in hospital that are suitable to become an organ donor at the time.”

A dedicated specialist organ donation nurse works at FGH, as well as at Westmorland General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in a bid to provide as much support as possible to families faced with losing a loved one.

Dr Walker added: “We all know there are no magic words that can make a bereaved family feel better at such a sad time, but our staff are trained to be able to have to conversations with family members in a sensitive way to discuss their options with them, which includes the chance for their loved one to become a donor so they can save the lives of others.”

‘Tell loved ones about decision’

A TOTAL of 19 people in Cumbria have died while waiting for an organ transplant in the last five years.

The figures, from the NHS Blood and Transplant Service, the organisation responsible for matching and allocating organs, reveal the number of people in the county who did not receive a transplant in time to save their lives.

They were among the three people who die across the UK every day while on the waiting list.

Leaders within the NHS Blood and Transplant Service state the UK has one of the lowest rates of consent in Europe – with just 58 per cent of families agreeing to donate their family members’ organs after they died in the 12 months prior to April this year.

They have renewed their call for people to discuss organ donation to make the decision easier for loved ones in the event of their death.

Anthony Clarkson, the service’s assistant director for organ donation and nursing, said: “Telling your loved ones you want to be an organ donor means your family will be in no doubt about your decision, meaning your wishes will be fulfilled should you die in circumstances where organ donation is possible.”

How you can become a donor

ANYONE who would like to join the Organ Donation Register can do so online by visiting  www.organdonation.nhs.uk or calling 0300 1232323.

The register can be updated with new contact details at any time and people have the option to withdraw should they change their mind at a later date.

Experts within the NHS Blood and Transplant Service say:

• The online form takes minutes to complete and gives people the option to specify which organs they would be willing to donate in the event of their death.
• Age is no barrier to donation – with people of all ages able to help others after their own death.
• Medics will always concentrate on saving your life first with organ donation only considered should you die.
• Long term illnesses are not usually a barrier to donation. As a general rule, only people with CJD or cancer that has spread within the past 12 months are unlikely to be eligible.