University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) and Kendal Organ Donor Town are calling on members of the public to support organ donation and save a life.
Every year, hundreds of lives are saved with the help of donated organs but with the number of registered organ donors in the UK falling for the first time in over a decade and a growing transplant list, now is the perfect opportunity to sign up and become an organ donor.
Kirrin Ingham, Clinical Leader, at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) has experienced first-hand how important tissue donation is, and wouldn’t be here today doing a job she loves if it wasn’t for the cornea transplant she received as a child.
Kirrin, said: “As a child, I suffered from a condition called Kerataconus, which caused my corneas to thin and change shape.
"As time went on, my sight deteriorated, and the only option to restore my sight was corneal transplants.”
The Mayor of Kendal, Chris Hogg, plans to use his year in office to promote organ donation, making Kendal an ‘Organ Donor Town’.
The campaign has a target of getting an extra 1,000 people in Kendal on the organ donor register by May 2016.
So far the campaign has signed up around 600 people living in the LA9 postcode.
Chris said; “Signing the organ donor register can potentially save and transform lives.
"Please sign up and tell your family you’ve done so too. In the last five years the equivalent of a mini bus full of people have died whilst waiting for a transplant. We need to stop this happening.”
UHMBT works closely with Kendal Organ Donor town to promote the importance and life changing benefits of becoming an organ donor.
To help spread the word, volunteers from the Trust and the Kendal Organ Donor town team will be hosting an information stand at Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) on 12 February 2016 at the following times and locations:
WGH canteen from 11am – 2pm
Main reception area from 10am – 2pm
Members of the public are invited to come along and speak to the teams about what organ donation means, how it helps people, and how to sign up.
For more information about the Kendal Organ Donor town campaign, and to sign up to be a donor, visit the Kendal Organ Donation website.