Organ Donation

Joining the Organ Donor Register means that you could save 15 lives after you die.

What can I donate?

After death, you can donate the following organs:

Kidneys
Heart
Liver
Lungs
Pancreas
Small bowel

It's also possible to donate tissue, such as corneas, skin, bone, tendons, cartilage and heart valves. A cornea transplant can restore someone's sight, a bone transplant can prevent limb amputation in bone cancer patients and skin grafts can treat people for severe burns.
Under current law, if you want to donate your organs after death you must make your wishes known.

There are a number of ways of ensuring your wishes are taken into consideration:  

Discuss your decision with a family member. This is vitally important. The medical team will require their help in the donation process in the event of your death. Understanding your reasons for wanting to donate will help them to carry out your wishes at a very difficult time. The relatives of organ donors often talk of finding great strength from this process as it means that other lives are saved.

Put your name on the Organ donation register.This makes it easier for the hospital to establish your wishes as quickly as possible.

Carry a donor card. The donor card was introduced in 1971 at a time when only kidneys could be donated. It's still a valid method but if you're not carrying one in the event of your death there's a risk that your wishes won't be carried out.

Blood transfusion

Only 4% of the eligible population currently donate blood, but the need for blood transfusions remains consistently high.  

Currently, approximately 2.1 million units of blood are donated each year. However, donated blood can only be used within 35 days of its donation. This means that a constant supply is needed to help ensure that hospitals have access to enough blood

Blood donations save lives every day. They are used in a wide variety of different situations, and to treat a large number of different illnesses and conditions.

As well as saving lives, blood donations can also help to improve the quality of life of people with a terminal illness. A blood transfusion may be able to give them the energy to spend time with their friends and relatives that they might not have otherwise had.

Cord blood donation

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after a baby is born. It's rich in stem cells and it can be used (as an alternative to bone marrow) to help cure many life-threatening diseases. 

Following the birth of a baby, the placenta and umbilical cord are usually thrown away. However, so that this rich source of stem cells or cord blood isn't wasted,they can now be collected, processed and stored.

Once the cord blood has been frozen, it can be stored until a patient with matching tissue type needs a stem cell transplant. Research has shown that units can be stored for up to 20 years. 

Bone marrow is a spongy material that is found inside our bones. It is important as it produces special cells known as stem cells.

Stem cells are very useful because they have the ability to create other specialised cells that carry out important functions. The stem cells in bone marrow produce three important types of blood cells:

Red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.
White blood cells, which help fight infection.
Platelets, which help stop bleeding.  

Bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) involves taking a healthy sample of stem cells from bone marrow belonging to a healthy donor. This is then injected into your own bone marrow. The new stem cells take over the production of the blood cells.

In some circumstances, it may be possible to take your own bone marrow from another part of your body. The bone marrow is cleared of any diseased cells before being returned. This is known as an autologous transplantation.

BMTs are often required to treat conditions that affect the blood and bone marrow, such as leukaemia (cancer of the white blood cells) or sickle cell anaemia (an inherited condition which causes

National Bone Marrow Registry

If no siblings are suitable or if you are an only child, a search of the National Bone Marrow Registry will be conducted. The National Bone Marrow Registry contains a list of all the people willing to donate stem cells, along with their HLA type.

You may have to wait several years before a suitable donor can be found. However, in some rare cases, waiting without treatment may be considered too dangerous, so a partially-matched donor may be used instead. This will increase the risks of complications, but your treatment team may recommend it if they feel that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Nicki Wakeman - Almeria Angels