New NHS drive to get people talking about organ donation

It's after the law around it changed last year.

Author: Harry Long Published 10th Feb 2021

People in York and North Yorkshire are being urged to talk to their family about organ donation as part of a new NHS drive.

Last year, the law in England changed - meaning all adults are seen as willing to donate their organs - unless they opt out or are in one of the excluded groups.

The 'Leave Them Certain' campaign is to encourage people to talk to family members about their decision - and raise awareness that families will still be approached - before any donation goes ahead.

New research has found less than half of adults in England have spoken to family members about it.

Even though 80% of people are willing to donate their organs, only 39% say they have shared their decision. And while a huge 9 in 10 families support organ donation if they knew what their loved one wanted, this figure falls to around half when a decision is not known.

Local hospitals are also supporting the campaign.

In North Yorkshire, there are 515,990 people currently on the NHS Organ Donor Register, with 24 people becoming donors in the last year.