A THIRD of adults have not yet decided whether or not they would donate their organs, research has revealed.

As part of National Transplant Week, which started on Monday, people across Cumbria are being urged to break their silence on the topic and say yes to organ donation.

A third of UK adults admit they haven’t considered organ donation or decided if they want to be an organ donor, according to NHS Blood and Transplant.

Across Cumbria there are 68 people waiting for a transplant and last year 19 people in the county had their lives saved or transformed thanks to deceased organ donation.

Unfortunately, the number of people donating organs in the UK fell for the first time in 11 years last year.

The UK also has one of the lowest rates in Europe for families consenting to organ donation; in 2014/15 only five per cent agreed to donate their family members’ organs after they died.

This National Transplant Week, NHS Blood and Transplant wants to get the whole nation talking about organ donation and the importance of sharing decisions on being an organ donor with family and close friends.

The Seven Days to Say Yes I Donate campaign aims to help break down barriers and taboos around organ donation.

Anthony Clarkson, NHS Blood and Transplant’s assistant director for organ donation and nursing, said: “Every day three people die in need of a transplant. Yet across the UK one in three adults haven’t considered organ donation or decided whether they want to be an organ donor.

“To save more lives we need more donors.”

<u>Donor's gift offered Dalton woman the chance to get her life back</u>

A MOTHER-OF-TWO who contracted an auto immune disease was shocked to discover that she would need a liver transplant.

Katy Whalley, 40, from Dalton, was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis in 2008.
Katy Whalley

The rare liver disease only effects six in every 100,000 people. The cause is unknown.

Two years ago Mrs Whalley’s skin started to go yellow and she became very ill.

She said: “I went to Furness General and was put on antibiotics, I was then sent to a consultant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and was told that I was going to need a liver transplant.

“I had mixed feelings about it at the time because I needed to get better but at the same time it was scary to think that I was that ill.”

Mrs Whalley was put on the transplant list and within just two months she received the call she was both dreading and looking forward to.

She said: “It all depends on your blood type when it comes to having a liver transplant and mine is not a rare type so it was a relatively quick process for me.”

Mrs Whalley was on holiday at Center Parcs with her husband and two daughters when she received the call.

She said: “It was just so surreal. We had to just jump in the car and drive to Newcastle.

“My two children reacted quite differently to the news, one cried and one wouldn’t speak to me. They were really worried.”

Once Mrs Whalley got to hospital, she had a couple of hours to wait before she was taken to theatre for the nine-hour operation. The operation was a success but complete recovery was still a long way off.

She said: “I was in hospital for about six weeks after the operation and I went through rejection twice. The first time is pretty standard but the second one was more worrying.”

Once the team at Newcastle got it under control, Mrs Whalley was discharged and in less than two months was back at work at Furness General Hospital as a clerical officer.

She said: “I was always determined to write to the family of the person who’s liver I received and say thank you and in the end me, my husband and my children all wrote letters.

“I wanted to thank them for giving me my life back.

“I urge everyone to sign up to the organ donor register because you never know if you or a family member are going to be in need of one. It really does save lives.”

<u>‘If you think it’s a good idea get yourself on the register’</u>


Sarah Ralley SARAH Ralley, an NHS Blood and Transplant specialist nurse for organ donation based at Furness General Hospital, works with families to see if they will consider donating a loved one’s organs.

Having started the job role seven years ago, Miss Ralley finds the hardest part of her job is seeing the families so upset.

She said: “It can be an emotional rollercoaster seeing the families grieving.

“As a trust, this process is considered to be a very important thing; organ donation is a choice that we offer to all families.

“In my role I can give families all the information they need to make the right decision for them and to go ahead with what their loved ones would have wanted.

“We support them from start to finish.”

Miss Ralley is very passionate about organ donation and feels that signing the register is a must.

She said: “When you talk to people they think it’s a great idea but it’s just actually physically getting round to it.

“If you think it’s a good thing then get yourself on the register and talk to your family about it.

“Sometimes it can make it harder for families having to make that decision for their loved one but if they are already aware of your wishes then that makes it easier for them.

“Organ donation is an amazing thing and saves so many lives. I know there are a lot of people out there who agree and if you are one of them and aren’t yet on the register then get signed up.”