Home Local News WWL Giving ‘Organ Donation Week’ a Big Push this Year!

WWL Giving ‘Organ Donation Week’ a Big Push this Year!

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Vikki and Ann by the Organ Donation Stand
Vikki and Ann by the Organ Donation Stand

This Organ Donation Week (20th to 26th September 2021), NHS Blood and Transplant and Wrightington Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL), are calling on people to talk to their families about organ donation and leave them certain about their decision.

There are around 653 people in the North West waiting for a transplant and they need your help. Over the last 12 months, WWL has helped change and save the lives of 11 people, thanks to the generous gift of organ donation from four organ donors, with the support of their families. They have also helped many more in their donation of tissues.

There are already 2,536,629 people in the North West who have opted in on the NHS Organ Donor Register. The topic needs to be talked about with loved ones, to ensure families supports individual’s decisions, when they are approached about organ donation by a specialist nurse in hospital.

The law around organ donation changed in England in May 2020. All adults are now considered to have agreed to donate their own organs when they die, unless they record a decision not to donate or they are in one of the excluded groups.

However, relatives will still always be consulted before organ donation goes ahead. Each year, opportunities for transplants are missed because families are not sure what to do.

Vikki Lloyd and Ann Joyce WWL Hospital’s Specialist Nurse’s for Organ Donation said, “Knowing what your relative wanted, helps families support their decision around organ donation at what is often a difficult time.

“We need more people in the Wigan Borough to talk with their loved ones about organ donation to give them the certainty they need to support their organ donation decision.

“To register your decision, visit the NHS Organ Donor Register at

www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 and share your decision with your family.

“Users of the NHS app, can also use this to record, check or amend their details or decision.”

This week, WWL is supporting the campaign by taking part in a virtual awareness campaign called ‘Race for Recipients 2021’.

In honour of our organ donors, their recipients and those waiting for a lifesaving transplant, WWL want to raise awareness around the gift of organ donation and encourage people to make their decision.

The aim is to achieve a distance that equates to the number of people who are currently waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the UK, 1 mile per person. This is currently around 7,000 people which means 7,000 miles is the goal!

The distance can be accumulated by hiking, running, cycling, static equipment, a sports training session, doing the school run or just walking round the supermarket.

The challenge will be active from Saturday 18th September at 6am until Midnight Sunday 26th September.

There is no cost or the need to raise money, just raise awareness! You can post your activity on social media and tag WWL’s accounts to spread even more awareness.

All participants need to register, where you will then be asked to join a team. We would obviously, love you to join Team WWL to help us to achieve our goal!

Once your registration is received, we will send out links to allow each member to join the Challenge Hound platform which can be linked to most tracking apps – Under Armour, Garmin, Strava etc.

Please also take this opportunity to update your donation decision on the Organ Donation Register – the link will be provided after registration!

NHS Blood and Transplant is a joint England and Wales Special Health Authority. We provide the blood donation service for England and the organ donation service for the UK. We also provide donated tissues, stem cells and cord blood. We are an essential part of the NHS, saving and improving lives through public donation.

We look forward to seeing your results.

Link for Race for Recipients: Race for Recipients (google.com)

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