During Organ Donation Week (5 - 11 September) local MP Rebecca Harris has called on families in Castle Point to start a conversation about organ donation.

Every day across the UK, around three people who could have benefited from a transplant die because there aren’t enough organ donors. And in Castle Point there are 10* people waiting for transplant.

To be a donor, many people believe that all you have to do is join the NHS Organ Donor Register. However, if you die in circumstances where you could become an organ donor, your family would be approached by specialist nurses and asked to support your decision to donate.  

NHS Blood and Transplant, the organ donation organisation for the UK, have released figures that show only 47% of families agree to organ donation if they are unaware of their relative’s decision to be a donor. Yet almost 90% of families give their consent when the decision to be an organ donor is known.

Local MP, Rebecca Harris said: “NHS Blood and Transplant’s figures show why it is vital for families to talk about organ donation, so that if the worst should happen, your loved ones aren’t left guessing about your decision.

“There are 27,121* of us from Castle Point on the NHS Organ Donor Register -but how many of us have simply signed up and not told our family?

“It is vital that we agree to become organ donors if we can. By joining the NHS Organ Donor Register and sharing your decision with your family you could potentially save up to nine lives. If you or your mum or brother needed a transplant, would you want others to agree to donation if they could?”

Start a conversation today and help turn an end into a beginning. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register and make sure you tell your friends and family your decision.

Visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23. You can also share your decision with your friends on social media, using the hashtag #YesIDonate