Three people die every day in the UK waiting for a transplant. Your Life looks at the government’s new campaign to encourage more Scots to join the NHS Organ Donor Register, and meets a walking example of why people should sign up
HE LOOKS like an ordinary happy young man, but Darren Anderson hasn’t always been so healthy.
The 21-year-old, from Aberdeen, is only here thanks to the selfless act of organ donation.
Darren is backing the Scottish Government’s new campaign to encourage more Scots to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Organ donation is one of the country’s most emotive issues. Everyone has it in them to save a life, but not all Scots have made their wishes known on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Recent research found 96% of people would take an organ if they needed one, yet only 36% of Scots have joined the register.
Three people die every day in the UK waiting for a transplant, with around 8,000 people currently waiting on the gift of life.
Thankfully, Darren is one of the lucky ones, getting two life-saving kidney transplants in his short life.
Born with posterior urethral valves, Darren faced kidney problems throughout his childhood. At the age of 10, his parents, Nicola and Derek, faced the difficult decision of putting Darren on dialysis or hoping a family member was a match to donate a kidney, as that would be his best shot at survival.
Dad Derek selflessly donated a kidney to his fragile son in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow’s Yorkhill in November, 1999.
But just eight years later, after years of good health, 18-year-old Darren was given the shattering news that his kidney was failing again.
He recalls: “When I was 10, my dad went beyond the call of duty and gave me one of his kidneys as he was a match. Not everyone has this option, but it was my best chance of survival and it worked out well, I was able to live life like any other young lad.
“I completed school and went travelling around the world, but when I returned home and went for a routine check-up, things took a turn for the worse.
“After a blood test I was told my levels were all over the place and my kidney was rejecting. You can’t explain how it feels to hear that, it’s gutting. I had just returned from having the time of my life, so to be told I was critically ill was a shock as I felt surprisingly well.”
Sport-mad Darren, who competed in last year’s Transplant Games in Australia, was put on the transplant waiting list and could only hope a donor organ would become available. Although Darren had already had a live donation from his dad, which can only happen with kidney or liver transplants, no other family member was a match, so Darren had to hope a suitable kidney would be found from a deceased donor.
When someone dies, doctors check to see if they were on the NHS Organ Donor Register. If they were, they discuss this with their family members who give the final decision as to whether organ donation can take place.
People waiting for a transplant are then matched to available organs dependant on their need and potential match. But the number of people needing a transplant is increasing, and families of those who have passed away are not always sure of their loved one’s views which is why joining the NHS Organ Donor Register is so important.
Darren began dialysing again at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in October, 2007, with his friends and family by his side to support him.
Six difficult months later he received ‘the call’ he, and his family, had been desperately hoping for.
He said: “I was supposed to be going away for the weekend with my friends so I arranged to go on dialysis earlier than usual on Friday, July 4, 2008. It was around 6am and I was getting hooked up to my machine in the hospital when ‘the call’ came through. I felt a mixture of emotion, I was happy I was going to get my life back but petrified thinking about what was ahead of me.
“I quickly called my folks who rushed me to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where my transplant was to take place. I kept my earphones in the whole journey down; your head can easily run away with itself so I tried to stay calm and focused.
“After several tests to see if the donor was a match, I was told it was, which was an incredible feeling. I went into theatre and received my transplant on the Saturday.
“I experienced some complications for a year after my transplant, but I am back on track now, studying biology at Edinburgh University. I hope to work in a medical or research profession. I think it has a lot to do with my personal experiences and having spent so much time around doctors and nurses.
“I now have my own place and generally love living life every day. I am a walking example of why people should join the NHS Organ Donor Register.”
Nobody likes to think about their own mortality, but joining the NHS Organ Donor Register lets doctors and your family know your wishes if the time comes.
Currently, there are more than 1.8million people on the NHS Organ Donor Register in Scotland with 545 transplants carried out in 2009/10. More could be done if more people joined the register.
John Forsythe, lead clinician for organ donation and transplantation in Scotland, said: “Joining the NHS Organ Donor Register is a selfless act which can benefit families across the UK. It not only transforms the patient’s life, but the lives of friends and family around them. Waiting for a transplant impacts on everyone connected to the patient; everyone waiting is someone’s mother, dad, brother, sister, son or daughter.
“The more people we have on the register, the more lives we can save.
“There’s no greater gift than life, and we are all capable of giving it.
“You are more likely to need a transplant than you are to become a donor, so people should think about what they would do if they, or a loved one, needed a transplant one day.
“We have seen a significant number of people join the register in recent months, but we need more.
“Please give a thought for those on the waiting list for a life-saving transplant.”
The Scottish Government wants to more than double the number of organ donors by 2013.
The latest campaign, Connections, shows the impact of organ donation on the patient and their friends and family.
Brave dad, Derek, 47, knows the pressure families across the country are experiencing as a loved one anxiously waits on a transplant.
He said: “Watching someone close to you deteriorate to the point they need a transplant is excruciating, you feel helpless. I was able to give Derek a new lease of life, however, it didn’t last as long as we all hoped.
“I wouldn’t wish what we went through on anyone, but in reality, there are thousands of families out there going through it.
“Everyone can join the NHS Organ Donor Register, there are no restrictions, it takes two minutes and you could save a life when you die. It is an amazing thing for families to know their loved one helped someone else live. I would urge everyone to consider their wishes to save more lives like Darren’s.”
Every person waiting on a transplant means the world to so many people. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register now at www.organdonation scotland.org or text LIFE to 61611.
The 21-year-old, from Aberdeen, is only here thanks to the selfless act of organ donation.
Darren is backing the Scottish Government’s new campaign to encourage more Scots to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Organ donation is one of the country’s most emotive issues. Everyone has it in them to save a life, but not all Scots have made their wishes known on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Recent research found 96% of people would take an organ if they needed one, yet only 36% of Scots have joined the register.
Three people die every day in the UK waiting for a transplant, with around 8,000 people currently waiting on the gift of life.
Thankfully, Darren is one of the lucky ones, getting two life-saving kidney transplants in his short life.
Born with posterior urethral valves, Darren faced kidney problems throughout his childhood. At the age of 10, his parents, Nicola and Derek, faced the difficult decision of putting Darren on dialysis or hoping a family member was a match to donate a kidney, as that would be his best shot at survival.
Dad Derek selflessly donated a kidney to his fragile son in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow’s Yorkhill in November, 1999.
But just eight years later, after years of good health, 18-year-old Darren was given the shattering news that his kidney was failing again.
He recalls: “When I was 10, my dad went beyond the call of duty and gave me one of his kidneys as he was a match. Not everyone has this option, but it was my best chance of survival and it worked out well, I was able to live life like any other young lad.
“I completed school and went travelling around the world, but when I returned home and went for a routine check-up, things took a turn for the worse.
“After a blood test I was told my levels were all over the place and my kidney was rejecting. You can’t explain how it feels to hear that, it’s gutting. I had just returned from having the time of my life, so to be told I was critically ill was a shock as I felt surprisingly well.”
Sport-mad Darren, who competed in last year’s Transplant Games in Australia, was put on the transplant waiting list and could only hope a donor organ would become available. Although Darren had already had a live donation from his dad, which can only happen with kidney or liver transplants, no other family member was a match, so Darren had to hope a suitable kidney would be found from a deceased donor.
When someone dies, doctors check to see if they were on the NHS Organ Donor Register. If they were, they discuss this with their family members who give the final decision as to whether organ donation can take place.
People waiting for a transplant are then matched to available organs dependant on their need and potential match. But the number of people needing a transplant is increasing, and families of those who have passed away are not always sure of their loved one’s views which is why joining the NHS Organ Donor Register is so important.
Darren began dialysing again at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in October, 2007, with his friends and family by his side to support him.
Six difficult months later he received ‘the call’ he, and his family, had been desperately hoping for.
He said: “I was supposed to be going away for the weekend with my friends so I arranged to go on dialysis earlier than usual on Friday, July 4, 2008. It was around 6am and I was getting hooked up to my machine in the hospital when ‘the call’ came through. I felt a mixture of emotion, I was happy I was going to get my life back but petrified thinking about what was ahead of me.
“I quickly called my folks who rushed me to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where my transplant was to take place. I kept my earphones in the whole journey down; your head can easily run away with itself so I tried to stay calm and focused.
“After several tests to see if the donor was a match, I was told it was, which was an incredible feeling. I went into theatre and received my transplant on the Saturday.
“I experienced some complications for a year after my transplant, but I am back on track now, studying biology at Edinburgh University. I hope to work in a medical or research profession. I think it has a lot to do with my personal experiences and having spent so much time around doctors and nurses.
“I now have my own place and generally love living life every day. I am a walking example of why people should join the NHS Organ Donor Register.”
Nobody likes to think about their own mortality, but joining the NHS Organ Donor Register lets doctors and your family know your wishes if the time comes.
Currently, there are more than 1.8million people on the NHS Organ Donor Register in Scotland with 545 transplants carried out in 2009/10. More could be done if more people joined the register.
John Forsythe, lead clinician for organ donation and transplantation in Scotland, said: “Joining the NHS Organ Donor Register is a selfless act which can benefit families across the UK. It not only transforms the patient’s life, but the lives of friends and family around them. Waiting for a transplant impacts on everyone connected to the patient; everyone waiting is someone’s mother, dad, brother, sister, son or daughter.
“The more people we have on the register, the more lives we can save.
“There’s no greater gift than life, and we are all capable of giving it.
“You are more likely to need a transplant than you are to become a donor, so people should think about what they would do if they, or a loved one, needed a transplant one day.
“We have seen a significant number of people join the register in recent months, but we need more.
“Please give a thought for those on the waiting list for a life-saving transplant.”
The Scottish Government wants to more than double the number of organ donors by 2013.
The latest campaign, Connections, shows the impact of organ donation on the patient and their friends and family.
Brave dad, Derek, 47, knows the pressure families across the country are experiencing as a loved one anxiously waits on a transplant.
He said: “Watching someone close to you deteriorate to the point they need a transplant is excruciating, you feel helpless. I was able to give Derek a new lease of life, however, it didn’t last as long as we all hoped.
“I wouldn’t wish what we went through on anyone, but in reality, there are thousands of families out there going through it.
“Everyone can join the NHS Organ Donor Register, there are no restrictions, it takes two minutes and you could save a life when you die. It is an amazing thing for families to know their loved one helped someone else live. I would urge everyone to consider their wishes to save more lives like Darren’s.”
Every person waiting on a transplant means the world to so many people. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register now at www.organdonation scotland.org or text LIFE to 61611.
Source: Press & Journal
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