Hospitals across South Cumbria will turn pink from Monday to mark Organ Donation Week.
Furness General Hospital in Barrow, Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary are joining hospitals, businesses and community groups across the country to raise awareness of the Yes I Donate campaign, which aims to inspire people to tell their families that they want to be a donor and to register their decision.
In the UK, someone dies every day in need of an organ and there are almost 7,000 people currently on the active transplant waiting list.
Dr Vera Gotz, clinical lead in organ donation for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust, which runs the hospitals, said: “Our hospital sites will look fabulous in pink, and we hope that it will make people take notice and start to discuss organ donation. Sadly, many opportunities for organ donation are lost every year because families don’t know if their loved one wanted to be a donor or not.
“You could save or transform up to nine people’s lives by donating your organs when you die, and help even more people by donating tissue. That’s why it is so important to raise awareness and encourage people to talk about it.
“Even though the law around organ donation has now changed to an opt out system, family members will still always be involved before organ donation goes ahead. That’s why it is still just as important to register your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and ensure your friends and family know what you want and will support your decision.”
Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “We need people to not only talk to their families about organ donation, but to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. This could be the difference between life and death for someone else.”
Register your donation decision at www.organdonation.nhs.uk
