Published: Wednesday, 26th November, 2008 12:30pm

'Sign Up for Life' is praised in Parliament

by Hamish Hutchinson

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A CAMPAIGN by the Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser to encourage people to sign up to the organ donation register has been praised in the Scottish Parliament.

Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, spoke of the Advertiser"s "Sign Up for Life" campaign during First Minister"s Questions and encouraged politicians to draw on the support of the local press to help boost the number of donors on the register.

Over the past year, the Advertiser has highlighted the stories of patients in Clackmannanshire who are on the transplant waiting list, including Danny Rae, from Sauchie, who has been waiting on a heart transplant for 10 years, and Anne Duncome, from Alloa, who has been waiting for new kidneys for over three years.

The Advertiser also spoke to 23-year-old Sarah Murray, from Sauchie, who has been given another chance at life with a double lung transplant in July.

Sarah, who was born with Cystic Fibrosis, had been on the waiting list for nearly two years and during this time her health deteriorated rapidly.

However, she is now living life to the full and is planning to go to university to study nursing.

Dr Simpson, the Shadow Health Minister, told the Advertiser, 'During First Minister"s questions I called upon government and cabinet ministers to promote campaigns to encourage other local newspapers to promote the organ donation register and spoke of the Advertiser"s campaign, which has been excellent.

'When someone has been successful and received a transplant, such as Sarah Murray, the Advertiser has followed it through and this has made people think more about organ donation and how it can change someone"s life.

'In a way it encourages a community to take responsibility for its people and makes everyone realise that we have to stand up for each other and help those in need.

'It has been an excellent campaign from the start and I would encourage other local newspapers to follow the Advertiser"s lead.'

Dr Simpson wants to see the introduction of a presumed consent system, rather than the current opt-in system.

He submitted a report to a government committee on this issue back in 2000.

Whilst some of the recommendations he made have been carried forward, a move to presumed consent was taken out the final draft of the report.

However, he feels that a presumed consent system would boost the numbers of donors significantly and help prevent people waiting on new organs dying before a donor can be found.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, Elspeth Attwooll, is also calling for an EU wide donor card after an UK organ donation taskforce failed to recommend a move to an opt-out system.

She also feels an EU wide donor card would boost the chances of finding the right donor at the right time and could save many lives each year,

Elspeth said, 'A European-wide organ donation scheme would be an excellent way of pooling resources.

'It would dramatically boost the number of potential donors and therefore also boost the chances of finding the right donor at the right time.

'Hundreds if not thousands of extra lives could be saved each year.

'Irrespective of the outcome of the debate on presumed consent, a cross-EU organ donation scheme is an idea that is well worth investigating.'