Let's get talking about child organ donors
I've been on the organ donor register for ten years. Before that, I carried a donor card. Help others live after I stop needing my body? It feels like a non-brainer. If I die, what's the point of taking a passenger (or several)?
Child organ donation is much harder to talk about because it's almost unbearable to consider losing a child. However, it's every bit as important for parents to put their children on the donor register as it is the sign up themselves.
Recently, I heard the story of James - a little boy who will not survive without a heart transplant. It's hard to think about the fact that another child will need to die for James to survive. However, the tragedy would be doubled if a child who could have donated a healthy heart were to die without donating, as a result of people being unaware of the need for child donors.
I'm not saying your family must sign the register, I'm saying think about it, talk about it, and if you do decide not to sign it, let that be a matter of choice rather than a lack of awareness.
Only 45% of families agree to organ donation if they don't know their loved one's decision.
To register to be an organ donor in the UK, go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk.
You can also start a discussion by adding a life event on Facebook, marking the day you signed the donor register or by following Organ Donation UK on Facebook.
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