Published: Friday, 17th October, 2008 12:58pm

Another 1000 organ donors come forward

by Nicola Findlay

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A CAMPAIGN to get more people in Clackmannanshire to "Sign up for Life" has helped boost the Organ Donor Register by nearly 1000 people.

The campaign was launched by the Alloa Advertiser earlier this year to encourage people to sign-up to the register and give those desperately waiting for a transplant the gift of life.

There are now nearly 14,500 people from Clackmannanshire on the organ donor register compared to just under 13,500 in February of this year.

One of those to benefit from the organ donor register is Sarah Murray from Sauchie, who underwent a double lung transplant four months ago.

Sarah (23) was born with Cystic Fibrosis which causes scarring on the lungs, reducing their capacity.

Over the years her quality of life gradually deteriorated, particularly during the two years she was waiting for her lung transplant.

But after her hopes were dashed twice she finally received her transplant on 24 June at Freemans Hospital in Newcastle and is now living life to the full and looking to fulfill her ambition to study nursing at university.

'I am doing really well and I am just so glad that I have been given a second chance at life,' Sarah told the Advertiser.

'I am delighted that there are nearly 1000 more people on the organ donation register in such a short space of time and hopefully in a small area like Clackmannanshire it will really make a difference to someone"s life.'

She went on, 'When I was in Freemans Hospital getting my transplant there were four other people on the ward waiting on a heart transplant who were very ill and had to be on oxygen.

'If I hadn"t had the transplant when I did that would have been me and I now want to do as much campaigning as possible to raise awareness and get people to talk to their family about it.'

Sarah is also planning to raise money for the Western General in Edinburgh, where she had been treated since she was a child, by holding a party in December.

Gordon Banks MP has backed the Advertiser campaign since its launch and is also calling for an opt-out system to be introduced to encourage more people to sign up to the organ donation register.

Mr Banks told the Advertiser, 'I think people now comprehend that joining the register can really change or even save someone"s life. Look at Sarah Murray for example, her life is now transformed purely because someone took five minutes out of their life to join the register.

'The new 1000 people who have joined in our area means that the potential exists to save 1000 lives. I pay tribute to everyone who has signed up so far and would urge everyone reading to come along to my office or the Alloa Advertiser office to sign up and save a life.'

He went on, 'The Government still awaits the follow-up to the Organ Donation Taskforce Report which will recommend a firm plan on how to take the proposals forward. I have asked a Parliamentary Question this week in order to obtain a firm date and ensure that a timetable is put in place.

'The Government response to the House of Lords European Union Committee report on increasing the supply of donor organs within the European Union has been put before Parliament and I am studying its content.'

Since its launch in October 1994 nearly 16 million people have signed up to the Organ Donor Register.

John Baker, media and public relations officer with NHS Blood and Transplant, added, 'We are delighted that nearly 1000 people have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register in the Alloa area over the past eight months.

'Every person that signs up is making known their wishes to become a potential organ donor in the event of their death and is helping to give the "gift of life" to someone else.

'Transplants are one of today"s modern miracles but, despite this, over 400 people die each year waiting for a transplant.

One donor can save the lives of several people and improve the quality of life for many more by donating organs, bone, skin, corneas and other tissue.

'Modern medicine can achieve a great deal but still depends on the generosity of donors and their families, who unselfishly consent to making organs and other tissue available.

'The gift of life enables patients who have received a transplant to go to work or back to work, children to play, babies to be born and lives to be made complete again.

'Transplants save and improve the quality of life for over 3200 NHS patients a year. Right now, more than 7963 people nationally – eight of them in Alloa – are in need of a transplant and this is increasing every year.

'Alloa Advertiser readers can help by making their wishes known to their loved ones and by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register. By registering your wishes in the event of your death that you are willing to donate your organs, you will be giving the gift of life to others.

'The more people who register their wishes, the more people will benefit from the gift.'

To sign up to the register go to www.uktransplant.org.uk or call the NHS Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400 24 hours a day.