You Are Invited To Become A 'Superhero'! UK

Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 20 Aug 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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A new fun viral campaign with a serious message has been launched to encourage more people to pledge to save a life by signing up as an organ donor.

Developed as part of UK Transplant's 'Superhero' campaign 2008, the new game gives users the chance to 'superhero themselves' online with a fun photo application http://www.superhero-me.co.uk

The UK Transplant 'Superhero' roadshow and viral campaign were launched at the V Festivals in Essex and Staffordshire last weekend with music lovers at both venues being encouraged to join the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).

Organ donation supporters include the Stereophonics bass player Richard Jones who gigged with the group at both V Festivals.

But those of you that didn't get to this year's V Festivals can still get involved in the Superhero fun by clicking on http://www.superhero-me.co.uk

UK Transplant marketing and campaigns manager, Angie Burton, said: "Taking the superhero theme of the campaign, the game gives users the opportunity to upload their picture to make themselves a superhero and pass the results onto friends and family.

"It is designed to be fun with a serious message that we hope people will pass on. Everyone can be a superhero and save a life by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register. Superhero-me means they can also make themselves look like one!"

Superhero yourself now or send the link to a friend. Everyone can 'Become a Superhero' and save a life. Click on http://www.superhero-me.co.uk to find out more.

You can also become an instant campaign supporter by logging onto Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/UK-Transplant/26728571815

Did you know?

Around 11% of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register are in the 18 to 24 age group and approximately 16% of those on the ODR were in the 18 to 24 age group when they joined.

Today, there are 7,819 people registered for an organ transplant, including 174 aged 18 and under.

Almost 1,800 of those on the transplant list come from the black and Asian communities and yet they account for fewer than 2% of deceased donors.

Notes

1. You are more likely to need a transplant than to become an organ donor.

2. 30% of the people on the NHS Organ Donor Register are aged between 16 and 25 when they join.

3. All the major religions support organ donation and many actively promote it.

4. Repeated surveys show that 90% of the UK population supports organ donation.

5. A donor can donate a heart, lungs, two kidneys, pancreas, liver and can restore the sight of two people by donating their corneas.

6. Donors can also give bone and tissue such as skin, heart valves and tendons. Skin grafts have helped people with severe burns and bone is used in orthopaedic surgery.

7. Black people are three times as likely as the general population to develop kidney failure, which can lead to the need for a transplant.

8. The need for organs in the Asian community is three to four times higher than that of the white community because conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, which can result in organ failure, occur more often in the Asian population.

9. Most organ donations come from people who have died while on a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit. Organs, particularly heart and lungs, deteriorate very quickly without an oxygen supply and the ventilator is able to keep blood and oxygen circulating after brain death.

10. Traditionally, organ donors have come from two groups: road accident and brain haemorrhage patients. Improved road safety and medical intervention mean that fewer people in both groups are dying.

11. The number of living kidney donations has more than trebled since 1995 and now account for one in three of all kidney transplants.

12. The NHS Organ Donor Register is a confidential database operated by UK Transplant that contains the names of more than 15.6 million people who wish to pass on the gift of life through organ donation after their death. This figure represents 25% of the total UK population. The register can be accessed by authorised medical staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to establish an individual's wishes for donation.

13. The Human Tissue Act 2004 makes clear that the wishes of the deceased must be put first and where a person has expressed a wish to donate by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register, carrying a donor card or verbally or in writing to a family member or friend, NHS staff will do all they can to ensure those wishes are fulfilled.

14. More than 9,000 people in the UK need an organ transplant to save or dramatically improve their lives but the shortage of donors means that just over 3,000 transplants can be performed each year. More than 1000 patients die each year while waiting. (Although, 7,819 people are currently actively registered for a transplant, up to 2,000 others are also on the waiting list but are suspended for a variety of reasons).

15. UK Transplant is the NHS organisation responsible for matching and allocating donated organs. It is part of NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), a Special Health Authority within the NHS that manages the National Blood Service, Bio Products Laboratory and UK Transplant.

http://www.superhero-me.co.uk