FAMILIES in Redditch are being urged to talk this week – Organ Donation Week – as new figures show 20 people from Worcestershire have died waiting for a transplant in the last five years.
This is despite the fact more and more people are supporting donating their loved one’s organs, there is still an urgent need for more people to support donation.
NHS Blood and Transplant is now urging more people in the county to tell their families they want to save lives through organ donation.
Last year, 50 people in Worcestershire had their lives saved by a transplant. If more people agreed to donate, more lives would be saved.
Although the number of donors is increasing, and the waiting lists are reducing, right now there are around 6,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant across the UK.
During Organ Donation Week, the NHS is urging families to talk about donation with the message – ‘Words Save Lives’.
Millions of people are already on the NHS Organ Donor Register. To join them visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk