Sign up today: First ever Be A Hero Day urges Yorkshire residents to back donor drive
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
In a bid to drum up support, brave families, who have spoken out about their experiences of organ donation, will join specialist staff at Leeds St James’s Hospital’s Bexley Wing today.
Meanwhile residents and businesses are being invited to pledge their support for Be A Hero Day by taking part in a Thunderclap campaign on social media in the hope that more people will sign the register.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe Yorkshire Post Newspapers-backed Be A Hero campaign organised by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) encouraged more than 52,600 people to sign up during its first six months.
It came in response to the news that around 700 people in Yorkshire are waiting for lifesaving transplants.
Dr Simon Flood, one of the clinical leads for organ donation at LTH, said: “The support from people across Yorkshire has been fantastic, each person who signs up to the Organ Donation Register has the potential to save nine lives.
“The courageous families who donated the organs of loved ones have given the gift of life and will never be forgotten.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSince the launch of the campaign in 2015, 48 families consented to organ donation at LTH in 2015/16 – the highest number of family consents the trust has had in one year.
New figures also show 161 families in wider Yorkshire consented to the donation of a loved one’s organs during that time.
To sign the register, which takes just two minutes online, visit leedsth.nhs.uk/be-a-hero.
***********
Have you downloaded the free YEP app available on Android and iphone?