Organ Donor

I carry a card, but its so old and battered I'm not sure it would be considered legal.

Both children, H and I have been on the register for years. If you are be sure to talk to family and next of kin as they can over rule your wishes even if you've registered.
I agree with the opt out system.

MissAdventure you can register on line. That's how I did it for H.

Thanks Nina. I'll look into it.

I have carried a card for many years, and my family all know that they can use any bit of me that is still useful. All my children and relatives also carry cards and would be so comforted to know that the loss of their life had helped another one to continue. I really cannot understand people who feel differently, although I totally respect their views.

Anyone who has had a child or relative who required a kidney, heart, liver or anything else could do nothing less.

I also did it on line a few years ago

Many times.
Paw had a liver transplant 21 years ago and we put a donor card in every Christmas card we and the DDs sent out that year.
Daughter of friends had a heart transplant not long after while she was a student and she has been given her life back.
The teenage daughter of friends in Bristol was killed by a hit and run driver and her heart, liver, kidneys, corneas and I think even skin were donated to enable others to live. This would have been very much her wish and that of her poor parents.
Most people I know carry donor cards and most would also also be happy to have the “Opt out” regather than “opt in” system , which I believe exists in many countries.

Yes, opt out is the way to go.

Some years ago my DH donated his bone marrow to a stranger in another country through the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register. Our nephew had recently died of leukaemia and my lovely DH immediately went on the register. He was an 'almost' match for someone, but the nearest they could find, and he went through the operation to have the marrow removed and it was given the the patient. Although he wasn't allowed to know who the patient was, she sent him a letter through the register saying how grateful she was as she had young children. We heard later that she didn't make it unfortunately, but I thought it was a pretty wonderful thing for him to have done.

My late husband had the benefit of an altruistic person who gave permission for a relative’s kidney to be donated.
It gave us many happy years together before he unfortunately succombed to colon cancer.

Please, if possible carry the card!

I was going through some paperwork recently and found I was on the register although I had forgotten.

Following KatyK 's post could I encourage everyone to think about registering with Anthony Nolan? I think there is an age limit but, if you are eligible, there are an awful lot of people for whom a bone marrow transplant is the last hope.

I have a feeling it's 40 now Deedaa but I could be wrong. DH was in his 40s when he did it. Also he said there is nothing to be afraid of. He was put up in The London Clinic and treated like royalty He just had a bit of back pain for a couple of days afterwards.

I also carry a card, have done for years, it`s a bit faded and battered, but I don`t worry about it, as I`ve also been on the register for a good few years, as has my eldest daughter.

You've to be 16 - 30 to join the Anthony Nolan register, but once on you can stay on till you're 60. I was sent a letter a couple of years ago to tell me that I'd been taken off.

Without a doubt opting out is the way to go in my opinion. So many lives lost because donors are not found in time. My now late husband had a double lung transplant some years ago and I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling of gratitude and emotion we felt to the donor and family for the most precious gift a person can give...............the gift of life, especially at such a traumatic time in their own lives.

I have carried a battered old card too, for years but also signed up on my driving license. I now have a new photo license and am not sure if it still applies. I may be too old now anyway but I have made sure that my family know that they can take anything they want and my DC have all said the same.

Our family agreed to as many organs as possible being harvested from my sister when she died after a road accident.

At first my mother, then very elderly, found it difficult to agree. DS, apart from injuries she sustained in the accident, had had several operations to try to save her life and had all sorts of needles and tubes inserted in her body and DM couldn't bear the thought of her body being damaged even further.

Finding a kidney donor card in DS's wallet won her over and we heard later that her liver went to a 15 year old girl and her kidneys to two young family men. Her heart had been damaged during treatment but her corneas and something else I cannot remember were also taken.

Theresa May has said the government are moving towards an 'Opt Out ' Organ Donation system.

“Our ability to help people who need transplants is limited by the number of organ donors that come forward,” she said.

“That is why last year 500 people died because a suitable organ was not available. And there are 6,500 on the transplant list today.

“So to address this challenge that affects all communities in our country, we will change that system. Shifting the balance of presumption in favour of organ donation.”
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I believe Labour are thinking the same so it looks promising.

Whilst on a personal level I wholeheartedly agree with an ' ' ' ' Opt Out ' system I totally understand why it is not agreeable to all .

I've carried a donor card for years, but not sure anyone would want my organs now that I am 80.
Is there an upper age limit, I wonder?

Oh yes have ben on the donor list for years...... as soon as I first heard about it and my family all know ~ mind I don't expect they'll want to use much with me being sooo old and slightly decrepit now (mid is mid 60's old these days?)

A member of our family contracted leukaemia; without the overwhelming kindness of an unknown young man who had donated his bone marrow she would not have survived. Because of his humanity, a husband still has his wife and two children still have their mother; we are all more grateful than we could express and are all registered as organ donors.

For those who are wondering if they are too old ...

www.organdonation.nhs.uk/faq/eligibility/

Anyone can join the ODR. Healthcare professionals decide which organs and tissue are suitable for donation. But, you must be no more than…..

80 years old for cornea donation
60 years old for heart valves and tendons donations
no age limit on bone and skin donations
But, you can still donate other organs.

My brother's liver and kidneys were donated, and the people he donated to are still alive and healthy.

I carry a card as do all my family. I know recipients too, and they lead full and happy lives, working ft and contributing to the world.

It can feel very strange signing the forms to release the organs for 'harvesting', but they are removed respectfully and it's good to know that the person you loved will help others who are loved.

If you're healthy, and you are allowed, go on the blood donation register. There's always a need for blood, especially in cities, and near busy roads, and near maternity hospitals.

Our young friend had a double lung transplant around this time last year. It was touch and go for a while but she pulled through and is now working her way through her bucket list - cycling, playing table tennis in the transplant games, riding pillion on a motor bike, volunteering in a children's centre, signing up for college to study early years care and carrying on dancing, and playing in the steel band, now free from lugging her oxygen with her. She still has to be careful as she is immune repressed and must avoid, at all costs, catching colds etc.

She knows that her donor was a teenage girl who was killed in an accident and that several other people benefited from the donor's other organs. and utilises her experience and gratitude in campaigning for people to sign up as donors. She has been interviewed on several TV shows, and featured in the press.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found our health centre plastered with her picture - looking gorgeous - as poster girl for the current 'please donate' campaign. If you are in Scotland you may see her on your surgery, hospital wall. A truly inspirational Young Woman.