Figures reveal number of Lincolnshire and Rutland residents on the NHS organ donor register

New figures show how many people in Lincolnshire and Rutland are on the organ donation register as campaigners aim to get more sign up and save lives.

This Organ Donation Week, September 23 to 29, NHS Blood and Transplant is celebrating 30 years of live-saving gifts through the NHS Organ Donor Register — with more than 3.8million people across the Midlands having declared their willingness to donate their organs after death.

For Lincolnshire and Rutland the numbers break down as follows:

Boston – 27,087

East Lindsey – 58,404

West Lindsey – 43,023

North Kesteven – 75,105

South Kesteven – 64,356

South Holland and Deepings – 45,982

Lincoln – 30,558

Rutland – 22,107

Since the creation of the NHS Organ Donor Register in 1994, more than 100,000 people in the UK had their lives saved by an organ transplant, including more than 16,000 people in the Midlands.

Although organ donation has been saving lives in the UK since the 1950s, the NHS Organ Donor Register was created 30 years ago to promote organ donation and allow people to record their decision to be a donor.

Figures also show 638 patients received a lifesaving transplant from a deceased donor last year in the Midlands — and this week Lincolnshire’s hospitals have been lit up pink to raise awareness of the topic.

Last year, 195 Midlands residents donated their organs after death, and many of those had recorded their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register — however, the waiting list for a transplant in the UK is higher than ever before, with 1,399 patients in the region still waiting for a lifesaving organ.

Only around 1% of people who die in the UK every year are able to donate their organs after death, and donors are typically those who have died in a hospital intensive care unit or emergency department due to brain injuries, cardiac arrest, or other trauma.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Every day across the UK there are thousands of patients and their families, waiting for that all important life-saving call. Yet, this is often only possible as a result of another family receiving some of the hardest news they might ever have to hear.

“The change in the law now means that it’s assumed that when someone dies in circumstances where they could be a donor, that they agree to donate if they haven’t officially opted out.

“However, no-one is automatically added to the Organ Donor Register. You still need to confirm your own decision and your family will still be consulted before donation goes ahead and will be expected to support your decision.

“With 1,399 patients in the Midlands waiting for organ transplants, it’s more important than ever to register your organ donation decision and make it known to your family.”

For more information visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk