Your messages

The opt-out system sits very uncomfortably with me. A year ago I donated my mums organs, I am a big supporter of organ donation and mum was too. However I only went ahead with the donation after talking to each member and asking them if they were OK with this. If anyone in my family had been against or uncomfortable with the idea, I would not have gone ahead with it. I dont believe the opt-out clause is the way forward. People need to talk to their families more, discuss what they want after they are gone, tell them if they have a donor card or have signed up online.

Hi
Nice to have found this site. Mr John Walwork helped with my dads heart transplant in 1983 ( Hugh Brown) Since then I have had a daugher who also needed a hear transplant and was given this chance of life at Harefield Hospital in 1992 but sadly died. I have now been diagnosed with DCM and the advance in treatment since 1983 is amazing. Mr John Walwork is one amazing man – he was back in 1983 and is still the same today. I wish you all well in the work that you are doing.

Gwen

Ref to the person who writes Opt-out sets a dangerous precident.After reading your comment I can assume you have never had a family member or close friend who has needed a transplant. I say lets have the opt out scheme in place. Then if you feel its not for you opt out. I hold very high praise to my donor and family for giving me a second chance by donating a pancreas and a kidney.

I think Op-Out would be an amazing thing to do and would give many people a second chance!!

I just want to say thankyou to the family that donated a loved ones organs. I has changed the lives of many people!!

On the 28th May 2008 I am donating one of my kidneys to my younger sister & would like to talk to others who have already gone through this experience

I think the opt-out program is a perfect way to have more available organs. I had a very rare heart AND double lung transplant 1 year and 5 months ago. My doctors had said that if I hadn\’t gotten the transplant when I did I would\’ve had only a couple more months at best. I was one of the very lucky ones who found a heart and double lunch match within 5 months. This transplant gave me a life after 34 years of being able to do very little. I have a second chance and THE ONLY reason I have had that chance is because someone did the most unselfish act in the world and became and organ donor. I will forever be grateful to this person and their family. There are so many people on transplant lists and so many do not make the wait. This is terribly sad. So, please sign those organ donor cards today and get everyone you know to do the same. Best wishes to all of you fellow transplant recipients. God Bless You! Lisa

Hi there,
I\’d just like to inform everyone that I\’ve started an e-petition
at 10 Downing Street regarding the difficulties faced by
younger major organ recipients after their transplant
as they try to make their way in life.

Link to it is here

Opt-out sets a dangerous precident.

Once a state believes it owns the citizen and their parts, then why do we need democracy?

Organ donation should be a gift, without this then the recipient will always be worried that they were saved by state theft and not the forward thinking generosity of the donor.

Also without donation, you start a trade; prices will be set, costs will be calculated and results expected and planned for and it will become a business (just look at the charity Shops in High Streets for examples of how unsavoury charity can become in the hands of accountants).
All this, for now, is avoided by Organ Donation. The Opt-out is a slippery slope.

Better education and awareness of The Organ Donation register is a far better way of doing things.

Hi everyone I am 12 years post transplant, and like many other transplants I would not be alive today if it was not for a donor, anyone’s life could change in a heart just as mine did, so I would urge anyone who has not registered to consider doing so now, the next one on the waiting list could be someone close to you, remember talk to the people close to you tell them what your wishes are.

The Opt Out system will not come a day to soon, I really believe it will happen one day hopefully sooner rather than later.

I just wanted to leave a little message in memory of someone very special to me. Robyn Tainty passed away on 11th September 2007 after a two year wait for a double lung transplant. She was just 24 and was the face of National Transplant Week this year (appearing on GMTV and on posters across the country).

Robyn was always smiling, she was a beautiful angel who was a wonderful friend to so many, and always ready to offer support even when she was struggling herself.

I hope that more people will register as donors after visiting this website. I\’ve lost many friends now who were waiting for transplants but who simply ran out of time because of the shortage of donors.

To Robyn – thanks for being a very special friend.

Emma xxx

I had a heart transplant on the 5th October 1998. If it was not my donor family I would not be alive today!. So please join the organ donor register and give others the gift of life. I am a crew member of the donor bus so come along to London 10th November and support the donor bus and elsewhere when the bus is out on the road.

Hi
My sister Denise died aged 42 on the 28th July 2006 after an operation. She had been a passionate believer in
organ donation since the age of 16 and discussed with her husband, just days before her death, her wishes should things not go well. because of her courage and generosity six people received organs. For us, in the midst of grief and despair it became so important and such a beacon of hope that things went well for the organ recipients. It gave us something positive to focus on and changed family members views on donation.
In support of and in memory of my sister\’s gift, we are asking radio stations to download and play \”when You\’re gone\” a song my son wrote in memory of his aunt, in the hope that hearing about our experience will get people to think about donation. The song can be freely downloaded at www.myspace.com/ryanmageesongs
I hope you feel you can
support this.
thanks
val magee

Just to say what a fantastic day we all had yesterday when the donor bus (and very important crew) visited Bolton as part of Salford Royal Foundation NHS Trusts and the renal network transplant awareness campaign. Between us we managed to sign up 506 people to the donor register. The bus is a great draw and I recommend any organisation big or small to utilise the service. Thanks to Ray, Alan, Vic and Geoff for their support for our own little campaign!

Hi all, our daughter Niamh (15 months) is currently on the active heart transplant list, I think National transplant week is a great way of raising the awareness about the need for donors no matter how big or small!!!!

Hello, on the 29 November 2000 I was admitted to Papworth Hospital where I underwent a heart transplant.I was told that if this had not happened I would not have seen Xmas that year. You can imagine how my family and I were feeling the night I was called for transplant. We will never forget that night for the rest of our lives, but for this to happen a donor had to be found. Without that person and their family this would just not have happened. So if anyone who reads this and does not carry a Donor Card or is not on the Organ Donor Register Please do – it could make a difference to someone and their family! Thank You – Ronnie Stone

Organ Donation is very important, for a new lease of life.

Have had a kidney transplant 9 yrs ago, I do believe that the opt-out system for donor cards should come into place.

On NKF website there is a link for a petition for a opt-out system which will then be sent to Downing St

Hello. I am a kidney donor. I have recently been interviewed on a streaming radio show called Kidney Talk, which you can locate at http://www.rsnhope.org. The interview is about my book, Mr. Right and My Left Kidney, which I wrote a message about before. I thought visitors to your site might be interested in both my interview and the show Kidney Talk, which has a different show of interest to kidney patients each week and often focuses on transplant issues.

Hello. I am a kidney donor. I gave my husband a kidney seven years ago. It is the best thing I have ever done. My memoir about meeting my husband at 46, marrying him at almost fifty and the transplant, Mr. Right and My Left Kidney (Peripety Press $14.99) has just been published. It is available on amazon.uk. The reason that I wrote the book was that when I was considering donation there was no such book to read. I think it is the first book-length, first-person account about spousal transplant. I thought that some of the visitors to the website might be interested in it. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Joan Saltzman

In reply to the earlier comment, can I direct you to the Human Tissue Authority website (www.hta.gov.uk) and in particular their document “Information about living-donor transplants” which gives advice on who to contact.

Hi is it true that altruistic living kidney transplants are legal from the 1st of September as I wish to be a donor? Who should I contact in the Hailsham/East Sussex area

Following on from Colin’s message, the legislation as it stands states that if a donor has expressed their wishes, either by carrying a donor card or signing up to the NHS organ donor register, medical staff do not need to seek further consent from family members. In practice, however, it is likely that a softer approach will invariably be taken, in order to fully include family members in the donation process.

In response to Sarah Weller, I believe that if the donor had made it clear in life that they wanted to donate their organs (by discussing it with their family and/or signing up on the Organ Donor Register) that you can provide comfort and support to the donor family by confirming that the wishes of their loved one had been carried out.

Hi, My brother has just been through a kidney transplant. The journey started in March when i offered to donate one of my kidneys to him. After my last test he received a phone call on July 9th at 3am saying that the hospital had matched a kidney for him from a gentleman who passed away. You can read about our journey at

www.livingdonor.co.uk

Kind regards
Chad Gomez x

As an Intensive care nurse how can we support the family of the donor especially if the family are not all in agreement.