Since 2010, bereaved families have blocked organ donations from 547 registered donors that could have provided organs for 1,200 patients.
Advertisement
‘The family will be very involved, ‘ she told The Sun.
“It’s great news that the number of transplants continues to increase each year”, said Jennifer Martin, vice president for constituent services at the National Kidney Foundation, a non-profit advocacy group. Many of us know that we should talk to our families about our organ donation wishes, but how many of us have a clue about how to start that conversation?
In 2015, 30,973 organ transplants were performed in the United States.
More than 121,000 people in the USA are now waiting for a transplant, according to UNOS.
‘My nurses are speaking for the person who has died. Most of us would cast a dim view on families that tried to prevent their children, parents or siblings praying to the God they chose or marrying the person they loved. The NHS Organ Donor register, established in 1994, is a confidential, computerized database that records the wishes of people who have decided that, after their death, they want to leave a legacy of life for others.
‘We have every sympathy for families – and of course we do not want to make their grief worse.
“We think this will make what is a hugely distressing day easier for them, by reducing the burden on them”.
In a recent survey carried out by NHS Blood and Transplant nearly three quarters of respondents said they thought your next of kin shouldn’t be able to overrule your decision to donate after you have died.
Last month, the system in Wales changed to “presumed consent”, under which people are deemed to be potential donors unless they have specifically opted out.
To register as an organ donor, visit the NHS organ donation website.
The Royal Liverpool, Aintree, and Whiston Hospitals in Merseyside have taken a new approach which has been resulting in significantly higher cornea donation rates.
Advertisement
‘Tragically, for many critically ill heart patients a transplant offers the best chance of long term survival but there is a desperate shortage of donor organs.
