Appeal ramps up for organ donors

Hamilton residents are being encouraged to join the NHS organ donor register with the launch of a new campaign.

The ‘We Need Everybody’ initiative, which includes a television advert, shows people of all ages, shapes, sizes and ethnicity baring almost all to highlight that anyone can be a donor.

It comes as latest figures show there are 540 people in Scotland waiting on life-saving transplants, and that every day in the UK someone dies waiting on a transplant.

Just over one third of residents in the NHS Lanarkshire area are currently on the organ donor register, and fewer than one per cent of deaths in Scotland occur when the person is able to donate their organs, making it vital that more people register.

Dr Harpreet Kohli, chair of the local health board’s organ donation committee, said: “It offers the opportunity to give the gift of life. Organ donation not only helps transform an individual’s life, but also that of all their family and friends who have been supporting their loved one as they wait for a transplant.

“By signing up to the register you can ensure that you have the opportunity to make a huge difference to the lives of so many people.

“Lanarkshire’s commitment to increasing organ donation is underlined by our hosting of the British Transplant Games next year.”

The British Transplant Games are coming to the area in 2017. They celebrate life and encourage transplant patients to regain their fitness while providing an opportunity to highlight and thank donor families for the gift of life. Awareness of the Anthony Nolan Trust is also raised, along with the need for more people to join the organ donor register.

Sign up to the organ donor register at weneedeverybody.org.