So last week was National Transplant Week.
I think I can say with some certainty that this is an awareness and donor numbers-boosting thing rather than the only week in 2012 when organ transplants are done in the Britain.
Three people die every day waiting for a transplant in the UK. You can join the organ donor register here. It's really easy and will take 5 minutes. Or you could spend one second ticking a box when applying for a driving licence. One of the slogans on posters at the moment runs 'if you believe in organ donation, prove it', which is shockingly apt. (Figures from here) 96% of people when asked say that they believe organ donation is the right thing to do, and how many have joined the register? 33%.
It is important to register and to make sure that your family and friends are aware of your intentions so that they will be carried out. Relatives are statistically much more likely to agree to a donation if the potential donor was on the register.
(Infographics from the NHSBT website.)
An interesting fact from the NHSBT (NHS Blood and Transplant) website: the oldest donor and recipient of a cornea were both 104.
The NHS Organ Donor Registry, incidentally, was established in 1994, which means it's younger than me and it's done more good in that time than I'm likely to in my entire life.
