If you had renal failure would you want the opportunity of a kidney transplant? Most people would. But only 28% of us in the UK have joined the Organ Donor Register. More than 10,000 people in the UK currently need a transplant.

Of these, 1,000 each year - that’s three a day - will die waiting as there are not enough organs available.

The UK lags behind most European countries with respect to the number of organ donors per million population.

Spain is the world leader in this regard, but was similar to the UK 20 years ago.

They achieved this success by raising the profile of donation nationally and locally, ensuring all opportunities for donation are realised.

Specialist doctors and nurses were recruited to each hospital in the country to champion the cause and donation was celebrated as the noble gift it is.

A national register was established to record the names of people willing to donate their organs in the event of their death.

The UK government and the NHS are attempting to emulate the results from Spain. These statistics can be improved by increasing the number of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register. The Trust encourages its staff, patients and visitors to consider organ donation and possibly save someone’s life.

It is really important that people talk about organ donation with their families and make their wishes known. Although this may seem like a difficult subject to talk about, it can help a family make a decision if this was ever needed.

It is important to realise that one organ donor can provide multiple organs. For example they can donate kidneys, liver, heart, pancreas, eyes, lungs, each of which can help save or improve the lives of others.

Signing up to the Organ Donor Register gives hope to those waiting and their families and friends and is a simple action that only takes a few minutes but could be life-changing in the future. You can join on-line, by telephone, when applying or renewing a driving license or at your GP surgery.

To find out more about becoming a donor, please visit www.uktransplant.org.uk.

Dr Mary Armitage, Medical Director.

medical@rbch.nhs.uk