Organ Donation Week - Words save lives

Have you ever spoken to your family about organ donation? Does your family know whether or not you want to be an organ donor?

If the answer is yes, then congratulations – you are part of a growing number of people who have shared this important decision with their families.

But there’s more to be done. Sadly, three people in need of a transplant die every day and behind this shortage lies the reluctance of some families to discuss what will happen to their organs when they die.

So, the message is: it’s good to talk. This year’s Organ Donation Week, running from 3rd to 9th September, has aimed to help people start what may seem a difficult conversation.

The annual event stresses the importance of that conversation and encourages people to share their organ donation decision with those closest to them.

Find out more about starting the conversation about organ donation.  

Words save lives

Sadia Rafiq (pictured below) received a kidney transplant in 2013 after being diagnosed with a reflux condition nine years earlier.

Her condition was managed initially through medication and then long dialysis sessions, often up to eight hours a day every day, whilst she waited for a life-changing transplant.

She talked of how tiring and emotionally draining dialysis was.

"Prior to being on dialysis I was a primary school teacher (but) I ended up leaving my job. I couldn’t play with my child. He was sat in front of me on the bed and I couldn’t play with him; that was the hardest thing."

Post-transplant, Sadia is now the proud mum of two children, including a ‘miracle baby’ – a child she and her husband were told not to expect after her years of ill health.

She says, "My gratitude to my donor and their family runs very, very deep. I just call myself one of the lucky ones."

If someone had not shared their organ donation decision with their family, and that family had not supported that choice, Sadia might still be on the transplant waiting list. She is a real-life example of how words save lives.

Talk to your family about organ donation today. Don’t leave it until it’s too late.