Lifesavers: Drive for more organ donors (From York Press)

Lifesavers: Drive for more organ donors

10:34am Wednesday 24th February 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

RIGHT now, across the UK, 10,000 people are facing an agonising wait.

They are sitting on the organ transplant list, hoping for the vital phone call that could save their life.

Many will be lucky. But many others will never get the new lease of life they crave.

Because, while 90 per cent of Britons say they support organ donation, less than a third of us have signed up to the official register.

Emma Young was one of those denied a second chance.

The 22-year-old Miss York finalist, from Pickering, suffered from cystic fibrosis and died while awaiting a double-lung transplant.

Eleven weeks ago, following Emma’s death, The Press launched its Lifesavers campaign, aimed at minimising the chances of such a tragedy happening again.

By the end of this year, we want to have recruited 20,000 new donors from our region.

We are already well on the way to hitting that ambitious target. Within the first 50 days of our campaign, some 2,519 people in our circulation area signed up – equivalent to more than 50 a day.

But we’re not letting up and we’re determined to hit our target – and, if possible, beat it.

Below this article is a copy of the organ donation form. It will take just a few minutes to fill in and send off, but it could save several people’s lives.

You don’t even need to pay for a stamp – just send the form to Freepost RRZK-SHUX-SBCK, NHS Blood and Transplant, Fox Den Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8RR.

It’s as easy as that to become a lifesaver. Don’t delay.

Drive for more donors...

HEALTH officials and The Press are hitting the streets of York tomorrow, to step up our organ donation drive.

The national Organ Donor Roadshow will visit St Sampson’s Square in the city centre from 9am to 5pm, giving information on organ donation and encouraging people to sign up.

Joanne Turner, donor transplant co-ordinator at York Hospital, said: “It’s really exciting having the roadshow come to York. It gives people the chance to talk with those involved in organ donation and the opportunity to ask us anything about organ donation and transplants.”