What are you waiting for? Sign up this Transplant Awareness Week

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is supporting this year’s National Transplant Awareness Week, which runs from 4-10 July with the theme ‘What are you waiting for?’ Everyday people complain about waiting for buses or waiting in a queue for lunch, but what if you were waiting for something that your life depended on… like an organ?

This Transplant Awareness Week aims to increase the understanding of organ donation and the issues that surround it by focusing on how long people are currently waiting to receive a transplant.

 The PHA is asking people to reduce the waiting time for a transplant by signing up to the organ donor register. There are approximately 300 people in Northern Ireland currently waiting for an organ and 15 local people die each year because there are not enough organs available.

Dr Eddie Rooney, Chief Executive, PHA, and Chair of the Organ Donation Taskforce Implementation Group said: “There are now over 495,000 people in Northern Ireland signed up to the NHS Organ Donor Register, which represents 28% of the population. While this is a fantastic achievement, there are still not enough organs available for transplant.

“I would urge everyone in Northern Ireland to sign up to the organ donor register and reduce the waiting time of those on the transplant list. It doesn’t take long to register and you could be saving a life.”

Edwin Poots, Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety said: "Joining the organ donor register is one of the most generous things a human being can do to help others. I would like to encourage anyone who has not yet signed the register to do so today and to discuss their wishes with their family and friends."

 If anyone would like to register as an organ donor, they should contact
0300 123 23 23, log on to: www.organdonation.nhs.uk  or text SAVE to 84118.

For further information on Transplant Awareness Week visit www.transplantweek.co.uk/