The links in this section of the website are intended to help you gain an insight into the donor process. You will find links to various sites that will assist you to register your donor wishes - if that is what you choose to do.

• How does a person register to be a donor?
• What can be donated?
• How is the donation carried out?
• What do people feel about donation?

Several donors and their families have chosen to share their experiences of their donor involvement in this life saving activity. For some families this is a very raw experience which they have chosen to share. They have made this commitment to encourage people to understand the process that they have gone through and to help others in a similar situation. There are very few charitable acts of citizenship that do not cost the donor a financial sacrifice. Yet there are probably no other acts of altruism that are so priceless in terms of what they give to the recipient and their families.

It is hard to believe that the person in the front seat of this by-plane received a double lung transplant. Elaine Betts received her life saving operation in June 2006 at the age of thirty five. The photo shows Elaine enjoying her recent birthday present in 2009. She has suffered from cystic fibrosis most of her life.

Naturally everything has some kind of cost. If you are a blood donor you have to travel to the blood centre. A living kidney donor has to sacrifice a great deal of time to be assessed for donation and there is some risk in donating a kidney. But what value do we place on the life of the person that has been saved by this gift? A bone marrow recipient can lead a fully active life rather than facing a premature death from some form of blood cancer. A kidney patient can be spared the grind of dialysis by receiving a kidney transplant and enjoy a much better quality of life.

Donation might be a bit of a pain, but seldom is it painful. Paradoxically the least painful way to be a life saving donor is to wait until you are dead. But this is only true in a physical sense for the donor. The emotional pain for the bereaved families and friends can be intense.

Remember that by choosing to be a donor you give another person the choice of life.

Would you and your family expect the same in return?

Would you be a lifesaver?

I have spoken to many groups of students, nurses and doctors about transplants and donation. I always ask the question “Would you try to save someone’s life”? Instinctively most people say “yes” very quickly. After some consideration they will say it depends on the circumstances. Understandably people begin to judge what risks they might experience to their own lives by saving another person’s life. Here are some examples of life saving situations that the participants have raised:

• Grabbing hold of a child to prevent them running into the road
• Making friends and relatives wear seat belts
• Some people hold first aid qualifications and have carried out the Heimlich procedure or CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation).
• Ringing the emergency services if they witness a gang fight or a car accident or if they see a fire
• Some students are swimming life guards and have rescued people from the sea, reservoirs or swimming pools
• One student said they had pulled a person from a burning car
• Colleagues in the Armed Services rescuing each other or actions carried out by the Emergency Services

One student referred to the outstanding gallantry of Johnson Gideon Beharry as a double feat of life saving bravery. Beharry received the Victoria Cross in March 2005. In the first incident that led to his citation for bravery, Private Beharry was driving the Platoon Commander’s Warrior armoured vehicle that had been called to the assistance of a foot patrol caught in a series of ambushes on 1 May 2004. The Warrior vehicle was hit by multiple rocket propelled grenades, causing damage and resulting in the loss of radio communications. The platoon commander, the vehicle’s gunner and a number of other soldiers in the vehicle were injured. Private Beharry showed initiative and great courage driving through the ambush, taking his own crew and leading five other Warriors to safety. He then demonstrated outstanding bravery by extracting his wounded colleagues from the vehicle, all the time exposed to further enemy fire. He is cited on this occasion for “valour of the highest order”.

Whilst back on duty on 11 June 2004, Private Beharry was again driving the lead Warrior vehicle of his platoon through Al Amarah when this vehicle was ambushed. A rocket propelled grenade hit the vehicle and Private Beharry received serious head injuries. Other rockets hit the vehicle incapacitating his commander and injuring several of the crew. Despite his very serious injuries, from which he is still recovering, Private Beharry showed great strength of character, taking control of his vehicle and driving it out of the ambush area before losing consciousness. His citation reads:

“For his repeated extreme gallantry and unquestioned valour, despite intense direct attacks, personal injury and damage to his vehicle in the face of relentless enemy action, Private Beharry deserves the highest possible recognition.” (Source: Ministry of Defence)

Tissue and organ donors do not put their lives at risk in the heroic manner that Private Beharry did. Indeed, many donors have died before their act of altruism turns into a wonderful act of humanity. There is no disputing Private Beharry’s act of bravery is on a higher scale of sacrifice, but maybe donors ought to have their magnanimity more openly recognised by society too.

The need to acknowledge the life saving commitment of donors is a very difficult issue. All donors receive a letter of ‘thanks’ from the donor coordination team and NHS BT for their contribution to helping to save someone’s life. This is a very private and confidential experience. And rightly so.

It is also permissible for the recipient patient to write a letter of gratitude to the donor family in the case of solid organ donation. But a ‘glass wall’ exists. The recipient is only allowed to know the age and gender of the donor. No further details are shared. The letter of thanks has to be conveyed through the recipient’s hospital coordination team to the donor’s hospital team. The donor’s family is perfectly entitled not to accept the letter or choose not to reply to it.

In all cases the wishes of the donor family are paramount and must be respected.

But what about society’s appreciation of what donors collectively achieve for all of us? It would be really interesting to hear people’s suggestions about how we could acknowledge the contribution that so many donors have made, whether they have donated blood, bone marrow, tissue or solid organs. One suggestion that I heard was that the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square could be dedicated to the achievements of all donors. Maybe Antony Gormley could take this on board – check out the Fourth Plinth website.[Fourth Plinth web link]

I suspect that many donor families want their tragic loss of a loved one to remain private. As such our respect for their generosity would have to be at the civic rather than personal level.

Tissue and Organ Donors are life savers too

There are many situations where we can save lives. Many of these circumstances call on us to make an instinctive snap decision. For example, we have to make a very quick judgement in deciding whether to grab a child from under the wheels of a lorry. Instinctively most people would just do it rather than rationally weighing up the situation.

I have organised over 250 college talks and I find it curious that very few people that have given blood or are signed up to the Organ Donor Register consider that these acts make them potential life savers.

Why is this?

At one sixth form college I spoke to in Bury there were 25 highly intelligent ‘A’ level students. They discussed issues in such a manner that showed them to be very socially aware and active citizens. Remarkably the group had six people who had already donated blood and eight people who had signed the Organ Donor Register. This was an unusually high proportion. Typically no one had considered being bone marrow donors. Sadly in too many groups in other colleges only one or two students have signed up to any form of donation.

So why do people that are registered donors not regard this as potentially life saving? After some reflection they quickly realise that it is. When you say that two table spoons of blood can save the life of a baby undergoing surgery people quickly appreciate the social value of donation. I suspect that the life saving potential of blood, tissue and organ donation is not instantly recognised as life saving because the pubic seldom see the benefits of their efforts. That is why DTEG and this website have been set up. Namely to help people gain a better insight into the life saving procedures of transplants that are only possible with the generosity of tissue and organ donation.

What do you want for your family? The possible ‘gift of life’?

Tissue and organ donation saves lives and keeps families together. I know these are very emotional terms. But it is very difficult for people to empathise with the need for more donors and transplant procedures if they have never had direct experience of these events in their families. None of us know when a life saving transplant might be needed by someone you love dearly.

With medical research progressing at a fast rate no doubt the list of tissue and organ donation possibilities will grow. Stem cell research is beginning to open up new horizons that will enable organs to be ‘grown’ or modified in a manner that might enable more organs and tissue types to be transplanted in the future.

It is also worth noting that body and brain donation after death is also a vital act of citizenship that supports valuable medical research and training. I suspect full body transplants or brain transplants will always remain the subject of medical science fiction. But for training and research purposes body and brain donation are essential.

Please get involved with these donor opportunities. Registration details are explained in the ‘How to become a Donor’ link of this website.

By choosing to be a donor you give another person the choice of life.