The Public Health Agency encourages everyone to talk about organ donation

Thursday 11 December is Organ Donation Discussion Day, when the Public Health Agency is encouraging everyone to consider their decision around organ and tissue donation, and to share this decision with their loved ones.

As Christmas approaches, it is often a time to catch up with friends and family and our minds turn to gifts, but there’s one very special gift that we could all consider – the ‘gift of life’ through organ donation. Each year, hundreds of lives across the UK are saved and transformed by organ and tissue donation and transplantation. 

Organ donation is a most precious gift, and the selfless act of donors and their families is at the heart of organ donation.  Last year in Northern Ireland, 44 amazing families supported the gift of organ donation, which enabled 123 life-saving transplants across the UK.  Overall, 60 lives in NI were saved through a deceased organ transplant last year, and 62 through living donation.  In the first seven months of this year (1 April – 31 October), there were 33 deceased donors, whose gift enabled 97 life-saving transplants.

This is testament to the positive attitudes of people here when it comes to organ donation. Support for organ donation remains constant and high at 90%, and we now have 60% of people registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register, the highest of any UK region, increasing from 51% in 21/22. Over 1.1m people have registered as an organ donor, an increase of over 20,500 since end March 2025.

Life-saving conversations about organ donation are vital as there are around 155 people awaiting a transplant.  Sadly, each year in Northern Ireland around 10-15 people die awaiting a transplant.  Earlier this year, figures showed the transplant waiting list had reached its highest level ever recorded with 8,000 people in the UK actively waiting for a lifesaving transplant due to a shortage of donated organs.  The stark reality is that only 1% of people will die in circumstances where donation is possible, meaning every donation is precious and every conversation could be lifesaving. 

Aidan Dawson, Chief Executive of the Public Health Agency said:

“Signing the Organ Donor Register and ensuring that loved ones are aware of your decision, will leave your family certain about your wishes. Families will always be involved before organ donation goes ahead so letting them know your decision will help them at a very difficult time. 90% of families support organ donation when they are certain of a loved one’s decision, but when they are unsure this drops to just 50%. This Organ Donation Discussion Day, we encourage everyone to have this potentially life-saving conversation.”

Leaving loved ones certain of your decision is crucial. That’s because families will always be consulted if donation is a possibility, and they will be asked to support your decision.  This helps to avoid missed opportunities for people waiting to receive a life-saving transplant.

The McGarvey family from Belfast understand how important it is to talk about organ donation. When their son Fionntán sadly died in 2022, a prior conversation helped them make decisions at an incredibly difficult time. Fionntán’s donation saved the lives of 2 people awaiting a transplant and his mum told us:

“Fionntán died tragically in January 2022.  He died in Intensive Care and at this most devastating time we were approached by the organ donation team. We knew Fionntán had made the decision to join the Organ Donor Register, he had done this in conjunction with his driving licence application. He had talked to me about it and had his card in his wallet. As a seventeen-year-old boy he had made this choice. When faced with the brutal reality of signing consent forms to allow our son's organs to be donated to others in great need, we knew what Fionntán wanted. That was all that mattered. 

Following Fionntán's death and organ donation, we as a family have been involved with promoting education around organ donation. A branch of the We Are Donor's charity was set up in Fionntán's name within Queen's University. Education allows for conversations around organ donation. Having had this discussion will help guide families in the midst of grief when making their decision.”

Edel Livingstone, Lead Nurse from the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) NI Organ Donation Services team reinforced the importance of families being aware of a loved one’s decision:

“As a team of Specialist Nurses, we support families at an extremely difficult time.  We see first-hand how the knowledge of a loved one’s decision to donate their organs after their death can help our families during end of life care discussions.”

The Public Health Agency is working with a range of partners to help share the message this Organ Donation Discussion Day, including the use of branded coffee cups across all HSC Trust coffee outlets on 11 December. That’s 10,000 coffee cups potentially generating 10,000 conversations.

Northern Ireland has an opt-out organ donation system. However, you can continue to register an opt-in decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. This actively shows your support for organ donation and helps give your loved ones the confidence to support your decision.