““Organ donation can be a difficult subject to approach with patients and the families of those who have died. What I am looking to do is encourage the general public to discuss this topic with their friends and family so that they all know how each
““Organ donation can be a difficult subject to approach with patients and the families of those who have died. What I am looking to do is encourage the general public to discuss this topic with their friends and family so that they all know how each other feels about organ donation and what should happen to them should the worst happen. By us being more open with our loved ones I hope that we can increase the number of people who sign up to become a donor."
Mr Malachy Columb
UHSM Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine
Expert gives talk about organ and tissue donation
The UK has over 60 million inhabitants but at present less than 25% of the population are on the organ donor register. As it stands, a person is more likely to need a transplant than to become a donor, a statistic that needs to change.
Mr Malachy Columb, a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at UHSM is the Trust’s Clinical Lead in organ and tissue donation. Malachy is hosting a talk on the matter for staff and members of the public. He says: “More than 10,000 people in the UK currently need a transplant. Of these, 1000 each year – that's three a day - will die waiting as there are not enough organs available."
The talk will also be an opportunity for people to hear from Graham, a transplant recipient who will be explaining how his transplant surgery saved and changed his life.
When a person signs on to the donor register it means that in the event of their death they can potentially donate a heart, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, liver and small bowel, can restore the sight of two people by donating their