Footballers Are On The Ball With Life-Saving Message, UK

Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 20 Nov 2007 - 5:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Millwall footballers are proving winners on and off the pitch by urging supporters and the wider local community to offer the gift of life and join the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).

Fresh from their FA Cup first round victory at the weekend, players from the League One club were at their Bromley training ground this week to support UK Transplant's My life, My gift awareness campaign highlighting the need for more people to sign-up to the ODR. They were joined by liver transplant recipient Simon Randerson, who recently returned from the World Transplant Games in Thailand with a gold and silver medal for swimming.

In recent weeks, the My life, My gift campaign has targeted every household in London with a special leaflet containing facts about organ donation and transplantation as well as a simple Freepost form to join the ODR.

Kenny Jackett, newly-installed manager at Millwall FC, said: "This is a club with strong links to the local community, where there are people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Therefore, we are urging anyone who has seen the UK Transplant leaflet to use it to join the ODR and tell their family."

Simon Randerson, 50, from Greenwich, is also keen to see more people benefit from transplants as his second chance of life enabled him to win medals in the 50m and 100m backstroke at this year's World Transplant Games.

"I owe so much to my unknown donor - being able to compete internationally at swimming is my way of making the most of the opportunity they have given me and is something I could never have dreamed of doing without the transplant," said Simon.

Angie Burton, UK Transplant Marketing and Campaigns Manager, said: "As one of London's most famous football clubs, we welcome Millwall's support in helping to spread the message that transplants save thousands of lives every year thanks to the generosity of donors and their families

"Thousands of Londoners have already returned their forms, but for anyone who has not got round to doing so, there is still time. Every person who joins the ODR is offering real hope to the 9,000-plus people throughout the UK currently needing a transplant."

For people wanting to find out more about organ donation and transplantation before making their decision, the leaflet also contains details of a dedicated website (http://www.mylifemygift.org) and the Organ Donor Line (0845 60 60 400) - which can also be used to join the ODR.

There are 249 people in South-east London (covering SE, BR and DA postcodes) currently registered for an organ transplant. Although 155 people in the area received an organ transplant last year - the highest for several years - the same period also saw nine people die while waiting. To date, 324,244 people from the area have joined the ODR.

As well as London, the My life, My gift mail drop campaign is also reaching all 726,000 households in Northern Ireland throughout November. In the new year it will focus on major towns and cities in the north-west and north-east of England (January) and the Midlands (February).

The five regions have been targeted because they currently have the lowest sign-up rates to the ODR - ranging from 19% to 22%..

The mass maildrop campaign which will eventually hit 11.6 million homes - reaching virtually half the UK population by early next year.

To date, almost 14.8 million people have joined the ODR, representing 24% of the UK population. Research has shown that up to 90% of people support organ donation in principle.

To find out more about organ donation and to join the NHS Organ Donor Register please call the Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400 or visit http://www.mylifemygift.org

Did you know?

1. The http://www.mylifemygift.org weblink contains regional information - including localised statistics and case studies - for journalists.

2. 1,604 people in London currently need an organ transplant - 1,483 need a kidney transplant, 40 a liver, 30 a lung. 22 a pancreas, 19 a combined kidney/pancreas, 7 a heart and 3 a combined heart/lung.

3. The year April 06-March 07 saw 479 Londoners receive an organ transplant - 201 received a kidney from a deceased donor, 141 received a kidney from a living donor, 101 liver, 15 combined kidney/pancreas, 9 heart, 7 lung, 2 pancreas and 3 other multi-organ. A further 254 people had their sight restored by a cornea transplant.

4. Unfortunately, over the same period, 66 people died while waiting for a transplant because no suitable donated organ was available.

5. You are more likely to need a transplant than become a donor.

6. 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, that can result in organ failure, occur more often in the Asian population.

7. The NHS Organ Donor Register is a confidential database operated by UK Transplant that contains the names of almost 14.8 million individuals who wish to pass on the gift of life through organ donation after their death. This figure represents approximately 24% 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.

8. 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.uktransplant.org.uk

• Additional
• References
• Citations