THE greatest gift you could give anyone this year is the gift of life, says the British Heart Foundation.
It’s urging people to sign up to become an organ donor and have a conversation with their families about their wishes this Christmas.
There are currently 36 teens and children and 272 adults currently on the urgent transplant list – just waiting for that lifesaving call.
The number of people in desperate need of a transplant has increased by 173 per cent over the last ten years, with 308 people currently on the active transplant list compared to 113 a decade ago.
At the moment, you have to opt-in to donate your organs after you die, but that is set to change in the future.
The green light for Max’s Law would change organ donation in England from the current system of opt-in, to a system whereby the majority of people over 18 years of age will be assumed to consent to donate their organs, unless they state otherwise.
But while the Bill is going through its final stages in Parliament, the BHF is urging people to act now and give the gift of hope by having a conversation with their family this Christmas and letting them know their wishes to become an organ donor.
More than 8 in 10 people in England believe it is important to share their organ donation decision with those closest to them, however only a third of adults have told their partners or families that they want to donate their organs after they die.
Twenty-year-old Dom Davies is one of those waiting for the ultimate Christmas gift.
Born with multiple complex heart conditions, he had open heart surgery at just four days old and went on to have two further operations by the age of seven.
Doctors told his family that although these operations would see him through to the age of 19; he would then almost certainly need a heart transplant. Now 20 years old, Dom knows he’s living on borrowed time.
After his health deteriorated rapidly in 2017 he faced an agonising wait and rigorous assessment before getting the news he dreamed of; he was eligible for a heart transplant and put on the transplant waiting list.
Dom’s been on the list for a year.
Dom said: “The awful thing about needing a transplant is that I’m all too aware that for me to have a chance at life, someone sadly will have lost theirs.
“It’s something I try not to think about; I’ve blocked that bit out.
“In the past, I’ve tried to do my bit to help other kids with life-changing heart conditions by getting involved in the British Heart Foundation’s Teen Hearts group and have helped design a guide for kids in hospital going through a heart journey.
“Christmas is a time of year when families get together and it reminds you of what’s important.
“No one likes to think about what will happen when they’re gone but if you would like to become an organ donor and give a family like mine the greatest gift of all, I urge you to let your family know your wishes.
How to sign up to be organ donation
New figures released earlier this month found that parents are significantly less likely to donate their child’s organs – which is putting kids on transplant waiting lists in grave danger.
It’s incredibly simple to sign up to be an organ donor, and make your children one too.
Here’s how:
Join the NHS Organ Donor Register
Kids can join as long as their parents or guardians give consent after they die, or until they reach 16 or 18 depending on where they die in the UK.
It’s very quick and simple, and anyone can join the register regardless of age as long as they live in the UK and are legally capable of making the decision.
You can’t donate if you have Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Ebola, active cancer, HIV or hepatitis C.
But if you’re clear of these diseases, then you can sign up here
Tell your friends and family
It’s important that you tell the people closest to you so that they can support your decision
“For me, this Christmas will be like all the others – at home with my family, eating my favourite food, something I can do well, and just enjoying being with them.
“The big difference is that this year the gift I’m praying for above all others is a new heart. It’s a big ask I know, but I’m dreaming big this Christmas…so I can be here for the next.”
Dom’s story is like that of so many desperately ill people, says Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation.
“For these people who are living with heart failure there is currently no cure, the only option is a heart transplant.
“This Christmas, the BHF is encouraging everyone to have the conversation with their family to let them know their wishes about becoming an organ donor and signing up to the organ donor register.
“We want to beat heartbreak forever; for families at Christmas and all year round.”
MORE ON HEALTH
Back in September, we reported the heartbreaking story of little baby Everlee who passed away at just eight months old after suffering from liver failure.
She died waiting for a liver donation.
You can sign up to be an organ donor here.
Linkhttps://textbacklinkexchanges.com/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-new-heart-300-on-transplant-list-plea-for-you-to-sign-up-as-organ-donor/
News Pictures All I want for Christmas… is a new heart – 300 on transplant list plea for you to sign up as organ donor
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
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Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
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Weight: 8st
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kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NINTCHDBPICT000335603546.jpg?strip=all&w=960
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