transplant week 2011

About

About NHS Blood and Transplant

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority in the NHS.  It is the organ donation organisation for the UK, with responsibility for matching and allocating donated organs.  Its remit also includes the provision of a safe, sufficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS.

The NHS Organ Donor Register records the details of people who have registered their wishes to donate organs and/or tissue after their death for transplantation.  This confidential, computerized information is used by authorised medical staff to establish whether a person wanted to donate.

About Transplant Week

Over 7,500 people in the UK are currently waiting for an organ transplant and furthermore, on average, 3 people who need a transplant die every day whilst waiting.

Transplant Week 2011 aimed to increase awareness of organ donation and the issues that surround it by focusing on how long people are currently waiting to receive a transplant. The overall aim of the week was to increase numbers on the NHS Organ Donor Register and ultimately help to reduce waiting times.

During the week, we travelled over the UK in a bid to entertain those who were waiting for everyday things such as the bus or their morning coffee. This activity was to ultimately make people think about the long wait for an organ and encourage more people to register as organ donors.

During Transplant Week we kept people entertained in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Belfast and Newcastle and in addition, we held a joint event with Live Life then Give Life in Glasgow.