NHS Blood and Transplant have launched a Christmas campaign to encourage Blackpool residents to sign up and become organ donors.



Across the UK there are 6,500 people - including 150 children - who are waiting for a call that will change their lives.

A shortage of donors means too many people die before they get the transplant they need. In the last five years 10 people in Blackpool have died waiting for a transplant.

In Blackpool 45,734 people have registered their decision to be an organ donor, with 9 people currently on the transplant waiting list.

While most people (81%) say they support organ donation, only around a third of people in the UK (23.3 million) have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register. Too many people admit they just “haven’t got round” to joining yet.

Sally Johnson, NHS Blood and Transplant Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation said: “It’s a terrible shame that so many people who want to save lives through organ donation have not taken the next, simple step to register that decision. We all have busy lives, yet most of us would admit that we still find ourselves whiling time away and delaying doing important things. Signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register is one thing we know people often just haven’t got around to doing. This Christmas, we are asking everyone who supports organ donation to take just a few minutes of their online time to show that support by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.”

There is no age limit to joining the register - and everyone is encouraged to have a conversation with their family about organ donation.

There is a particular need for more black and Asian organ donors.