| Accident and emergency consultant Brodie Paterson and Murray Petrie were highlighting the need for more people to sign up to the electronic register, in a bid to help meet increasing demand for transplanted organs.
Today sees the start of National Transplant Week, and there will be a stand in the main concourse at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital all week, where people can get information about organ donation and how they can sign up to the register.
Since April 1, 215 people have donated organs and 611 people have received transplants, but over 8000 people are waiting for a transplant.
Last year, more than one million people joined the donor register, bringing the total to more than 16 million across the UK.
Mr Paterson encouraged more people to sign up, while acknowledging that the sign-up rate in Tayside was 37%, higher than the national average of 27%.
Mr Paterson said, “I have been carrying a card for years and only recently realised I was not on the register. What we are trying to do now is encourage people who carry old-style cards to sign up.”
It is helpful if people not only sign up for the register, but also talk to their relatives about their wishes so that, in the event of death, those left behind can make sure those wishes are observed.
To sign up to the online register, visit www.organ donation.nhs.uk, or call the Organ Donor Line on 0300 123 23 23. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. |
