29 people die in Shropshire waiting for organ transplant

NHS Blood and Transplant has revealed the number of people who have died in the last decade as it marks Organ Donation Week (September 4 to 10) and is urging more people to sign up as donors.

Earlier this year it was revealed that there are now 282 people alive in Shropshire after receiving an organ.

Among those saved by organ donation is mother Monira Khanom, 36, from Telford, who had her life saved when her liver began to fail in a very short space of time. The cause is still unknown.

She had her transplant on May Bank Holiday 2015. But it was five weeks before she started trying to walk again, and about a year to feel physically stronger again, as she weighed just six stone after her ordeal.

She said many people have to stay on transplant lists for years, so it was important to get the message out to more people that they could help by agreeing to donate.

Hundreds of life saving transplants are being missed every year because families don’t know what their relative wanted. Left to make the decision for someone they love, families often decide it is safer to say no.

The reluctance to talk about the issue is contributing to a deadly shortage of organs.

In Shropshire, there are currently 37 people waiting for a transplant.

Anthony Clarkson, Assistant Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “It’s a tragedy that people are dying unnecessarily every year in Shropshire waiting for transplants.

“We know that if everyone who supported donation talked about it and agreed to donate, most of those lives would be saved.

“This Organ Donation Week, tell your family you want to save lives. A few words now can make an extraordinary difference. It will also make things much easier for your family to make the right decision.

“If you want to save lives, don’t leave it too late to talk to your family.

"In Shropshire there are more than 180,000 people on the NHS Organ Donor Register. However if you want to be a donor, your family’s support is still needed for donation to go ahead.

“If you are unsure about donation, please ask yourselves as a family; what would you do if one of you needed a transplant? Would you accept a life-saving organ? If you’d take an organ, shouldn’t you be prepared to donate?”

In Shropshire, the number of people on the organ donor register has increased by 27 per cent over the past five years.

There are now 180,783 people on the NHS Organ Donor Register in Shropshire, compared to 142,208 five years ago.

To support Organ Donation Week visit nhsbt.nhs.uk/get-involved/promoting-donation-hub/download-digital-materials/organ-donation-week/