Amateur Professional Transplants

I didn't go home after one of my night shifts last week. Instead I stayed at work so I could observe an operation I haven't seen before - because it happens so rarely.

Organ donation.

There are hundreds of people waiting for a suitable organ donor to come up so that they can have a transplant. And not just older people whose organs have failed with age & illness; children who have been born with organ dysfunction or who have developed cancers or diseases. Hundreds all over the country.


If you were to come into hospital critically ill (eg after a serious car accident), the doctors would do everything they could to help you recover. If despite treatment, no recovery was made, and the point was reached where your relatives and the medical teams agreed that nothing more could be done, only then would the possibility of organ donation be discussed. (The doctors will NOT give up on you early).

But most people haven't thought much about what they would want in the event of their sudden death. So more often that not, in appropriate cases family members are asked to reckon what the patient would have wanted, at a time when they are also trying to come to terms with their loved-one's death.


It's an interesting point - think about it yourself. If the worst happens, would you want to donate organs and help other people live, so that some good could come of it?

I would.

If you feel the same, have a serious conversation about it with a parent or friend, and make sure they know your wishes. Or you could go further and join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
The common questions are answered here.



Having seen what happens, and how many people could benefit, I've decided I'm going to donate my organs.

But hopefully not too soon.
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BTW don't think about what would happen if you were to put somebody else's name on your Donor Card. If you died of a brain haemorrhage, your mate Steve would NOT have his kidneys removed - it doesn't work like that.