Health InsuranceOrgan Donation Map Highlights UK Variations
While Lands End and John O"Groats may be poles apart geographically they"re side by side when it comes to generosity.
At the start of National Transplant Week, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has published a map showing the percentage of the UK population who have signed up to the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). The regionalised map has been broken down to reflect membership of the ODR by area.
Scotland and the South West are leading the way with 32% of their total population signed up while other areas of the country have fewer potential lifesavers. The national average of ODR membership is now 27% but the UK"s lowest sign up rate is 22% in London and the West Midlands.
Sally Johnson, Director Organ Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "Whilst 90% of people say they support organ donation, just 27% have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register. If we are to meet the growing need for organs across the UK we really need more people sign up as organ donors. Our job at NHSBT is to make sure that people know how to join and the difference they can make to the lives of others by signing up."
Anyone can sign up as an organ donor. NHSBT encourages people to talk to their families about organ donation so that their wishes are known and can be respected.
For more information or to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register, call the donor helpline on 0300 123 23 23 (open 24hrs), or visit http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk.
To view the UK map of ODR membership and to download a high resolution version for publication in either colour or black and white click below;
http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/downloads/pdfs/odr_regionalmembership_bw.pdf
http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/downloads/pdfs/odr_regionalmembership_colour.pdf
"Data NHS Blood and Transplant".
Notes
1. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority in the NHS. It is the organ donor organisation for the UK and is responsible for matching and allocating donated organs. Its remit also includes the provision of a reliable, efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS.
2. There are currently 7,986 people in the UK on the "active" waiting list for an organ transplant. This figure changes constantly as people join and leave the transplant list. Approx 2,300 others are on the "suspended" list because they are too ill or unable to receive a transplant at present. Added together, this brings the total number needing an organ transplant in the UK to more than 10,000.
3. The NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) is a confidential database used to identify those who have indicated that they wish to donate organs and/or tissue after their death for transplantation purposes. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is consulted after someone has died by authorised NHS staff to establish an individual"s wishes on donation.
4. Last year, 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, 3,513 organ transplants were carried out in the UK, thanks to the generosity of 1,854 deceased and living donors - the highest on record.
5. Joining the Organ Donor Register is easy:
Go online http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk
NHS Blood and Transplant