Transplant Recipients Urge People To Talk About Organ Donation

People in the Hfm Region who have benefited from organ donation are urging others to talk to their loved ones during Organ Donation Week.

The law changed last year so people are automatically on the donor register unless they opt out, but families still have the final say and can refuse to give consent.

167 people are currently waiting for a transplant in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

11-year-old Jay Crouch from Market Harborough had a life-saving multi-organ transplant in 2018, receiving two new kidneys, a pancreas, liver and bowel from a youngster who had sadly died.

His Mum Katie Freestone told Hfm she wants people to discuss organ donation, so more lives like her son’s can be saved:

Jay with Mum Katie

98 people had life-saving transplants in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire last year – 80 from people who had died and 18 from living donors.

Kathryn Croker from Desborough received a kidney from her Dad Kevin, a living donor, eight years ago.

She was diagnosed with a rare condition that caused her kidneys to fail when she was aged 12 and is likely to need another transplant in the future:

Kathryn, a community ambassador for charity Kidney Research UK, is also urging people to discuss their wishes with their families:

Kathryn and her Dad Kevin

For more information, or to register your organ donation decision,  visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.

NHS app users can also use the service to record, check or update their organ donation decision.