MORE than three-quarters of schools are now using an initiative created by a man from Kettering to help young people learn about the importance of donating blood and organs.
NHS Blood and Transplant says 73 per cent of state and independent schools in the country have ordered the Give and Let Live educational resource created after the death of Jeanette Crizzle.
Her husband Adam Crizzle set up the Jeanette Crizzle Trust – which launched Give and Let Live – in 2007.
The aim was to raise awareness about all types of donation following an unsuccessful search for a bone marrow donor for Jeanette, who was suffering from leukaemia.
Mrs Crizzle, who had a mixed racial background of Greek, Italian and English, died in October 2006 after an unsuccessful year-long search to find a suitable donor.
NHS Blood and Transplant chief cxecutive Lynda Hamlyn said she wanted to urge schools to use Give and Let Live.
She said: “Give and Let Live is a great initiative and I am delighted to see more schools embracing our award-winning educational resource. Young people are the donors of the future so it is vital that we reach them.
“They are the ones who will help keep blood stocks healthy or could provide a life-saving organ in years to come.
“I encourage all schools to get involved in our Give and Let Live programme.”
NHS Blood and Transplant says it is going to continue promoting the initiative when pupils return to their classrooms next week by writing to teachers to urge them to get involved.
Secondary schools are being asked to use the materials with 14 to 16-year-olds, raising awareness among young people about the value of donation, both in life and after death, and encouraging them to think about becoming donors in the future.
NHS figures from summer 2011 show a five per cent increase in the number of schools now with the Give and Let Live pack, which the NHS says means more than 3,600 out of nearly 5,000 schools have ordered at least one copy of the pack.
Efforts made through the Jeanette Crizzle Trust to raise public awareness of all types of donation over the last few years have included a report by the trust being presented to a House of Lords inquiry considering policy on organ donation and transplantation in 2008.
The Give and Let Live pack is now available to order as a hard copy for schools and be downloaded by anyone online. To download the pack visit www.giveandletlive.co.uk/en/teacherszone/downloads.
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