Only Eight People Became Organ Donors at York and Scarborough Hospitals Last Year

A Scarborough woman who recently lost her mum is calling for more open conversations about organ donation and is asking local buildings to light up pink in support of a national awareness week.

Jenny Hall's mum, Adrienne Wilson, passed away two weeks ago at Scarborough Hospital and became an organ donor.

Jenny says it's been a positive experience for the family, but that they have been shocked by how few organ donations actually take place.

NHS Figures show that only 8 people became organ donors at York and Scarborough Hospitals in 2023/24 resulting in 21 people receiving transplant organs.

The figures have historically hovered around 10 or 11 donors per year across the Hospital Trust.

The figures for the York and Scarborough Trust are in keeping with the national picture. in 2022/23 there were 1510 donors across the country resulting in 3696 people receiving transplant organs.

Across the country 6910 people met the NHS organ donation referral criteria with 3107 families approached for consent which was given in 1880 cases. Of those cases 1510 the resulted in actual donations.

Jenny says her family are immensely proud of her mum's support for organ donation and they are now dong what they can to support this weeks National Organ Donation Awareness Campaign.

Jenny says while it has been a difficult time for the family, the decision to proceed with organ donation has been a positive move and was made easier by the fact that her mum had ticked a box on her Boots advantage card to indicate that she wanted to be an organ donor.

As part of their support for the awareness campaign Adrienne's family have been in touch with a number of local building owners to ask if they will take part in this week's 'Lit up in Pink' event which is supporting the national awareness week.

Jenny says in previous years there have been no Scarborough buildings taking place in the event.

Scarborough Spa, the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough and Bridlington Spa will be Lit Up in Pink this week as part of the event which will involve hundreds of buildings across the country.

Councils, businesses, hospitals and community groups are joining together for Organ Donation Week to encourage people to confirm their support for organ donation by adding their name and decision to the NHS Organ Donor Register on its 30th birthday.

Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant said:

“It’s brilliant that these local organisations are showing their support for Organ Donation Week in the year of the NHS Organ Donor Register’s 30th birthday. The modern organ donor card is pink, and it certainly gets conversations going.

“We need people on the Yorkshire Coast to add their name and decision to the NHS Organ Donor Register. This could be the difference between life and death for someone else.”

Jenny says the staff at Scarborough Hospital were a real help to the family saying:

"The hospital staff in icu and the  specialist nurses gave us great strength and support whilst caring professionally and with such care, compassion and expertise with both my family and mum."

Jenny says that they raised the Organ Donor flag at Scarborough Hospital for her mum, something which gave their entire family a sense of pride.

The NHS blood and transplant service say that someone in the UK dies every day waiting for a transplant, due to a shortage of people donating adding:

"Right now, there are around 7,000 people waiting for a transplant. However, as only 1,400 people die in circumstances where organ donation is possible, every donation is precious and can make such a difference.

As the NHS Organ Donor Register turns 30, it’s just as important as ever to add your name and decision, because families are more likely to support the decision of someone who has done so. It only takes 2 minutes, and you could go on to save up to nine lives."

More than 100,000 lives have been saved over the last 30 years thanks to people agreeing to donate their organs.

Although organ donation has been saving lives in the UK since the 1950s, the NHS Organ Donor Register was created in 1994 to promote the wider message of organ donation and allow people to record their decision to be a donor.

With the 30th anniversary of the Organ Donor Register this year, people are being urged to register their decision so that more lives can be saved.

There is more information about organ donation at https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/