Longest-wait transplant patient backs donation calls

A man who has been on the waiting patient for a heart transplant for nine years has backed NHS Blood and Transplant’s urgent call for people to talk to their families about organ donation.

Gareth Evans originally had a heart transplant in 1990 for cardiomyopathy, when he was aged just 17. Now, the 45-year-old from Stockport has been moved to the urgent waiting list due to his declining health, having been back on the waiting list since February 2009.

Supporting Organ Donation Week (3-9 September), NHS Blood and Transplant is urging people to not show a ‘fatal complacency’ when it comes to organ donations. Figures indicate that approximately 3,000 lifesaving transplants were missed in the last year because families said no to donating their relative’s organs.

And data reveals that family refusals are the biggest barrier to organ donation, despite roughly 80 per cent of people outwardly supporting donation. However, surveys show that only 33 per cent of people have told their family that they want to donate.

Anthony Clarkson, interim director of Organ Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We don’t want people to die because of a fatal complacency that because you know you want to be an organ donor you presume your loved ones know it too. As an individual who believes in organ donation you need to make sure that you join the NHS Organ Donor Register and tell your family your wishes, your family’s role is critical now and it will still be critical in the future.

“People like Gareth are living moment to moment, in desperate need of someone saying ‘yes’ to donation – their lives depend upon a selfless organ donor and their brave family agreeing to donate their organs for transplant now. We all know that organ donation legislation will change in England and Scotland in future years but the harsh fact is people are dying right now waiting for an organ and it will still be important for people to know your decision. Please act on your belief in organ donation, share your wishes and find out what your loved ones would want for themselves. Only by sharing our views can we make it easier for our families should the time ever come.”