Catriona Hamilton: Organ donors provide the greatest gift of all

Published on Monday 6 July 2009 10:09

National Transplant Week has much to celebrate, says Catriona Hamilton

TODAY marks the beginning of National Transplant Week, and this year there is much to celebrate. It was revealed recently that the number of people who have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register in the UK has doubled from eight million in 2001 to an all-time high of 16m.

There was even greater news to follow. Scotland's organ donation rate hit a ten-year high, with more than 1.6m people in Scotland agreeing to donate their organs after death. That's 32 per cent of the Scottish population, higher than anywhere else in the UK, which has an average of 25 per cent.

The gap between organ supply and demand is still growing though, and around 1,000 people are expected to die this year while waiting for a transplant. One hundred of them will be children.

An adult liver can save the lives of two children, while one organ/tissue donor can save the lives of up to nine people and drastically improve the quality of lives for many more too.

Organ transplantation is one of our modern day miracles of medicine but it depends entirely on the generosity of donors and their families. So, why aren't there more of us registered as potential organ donors?

Some people don't like the thought of their bodies being "cut up" when they die. Others think they are unable to register for medical reasons but only HIV or CJD totally rule it out.

You can become an organ/tissue donor from just two months old (with parental consent) through to your 80s and beyond, and all the major religions in the UK support the principles of donation.

The life of our teenage son, Aaron, was saved when, aged three, he had a combined liver and small bowel transplant, thanks to an amazing mother, who, on the tragic death of her child, donated his organs. Along with our son's life, three other lives were saved too. This legacy gives the mother of Aaron's donor great comfort.

Catriona Hamilton is the founder of Transplant Kids (www.transplantkids.co.uk), a support group for children and families. For organ donor info, visit www.uktransplant.org.uk