Save the date: Organ Donation Week 2016
We are pleased to announce that following discussions and feedback from stakeholders and the public National Transplant Week will now be known as Organ Donation Week. This year’s Organ Donation Week will take place between Monday 5th and Sunday 11th September 2016.
National Transplant Week has historically provided an opportunity for the organ donation and transplant community to promote organ donation nationally and locally. NHS Blood and Transplant has run the annual awareness week since 2009 and has focused on promoting the importance of people discussing their organ donation decision with their families. We will continue this focus again this September while highlighting the importance of organ donation and celebrating those who have saved lives.
Our decision to change the name from National Transplant Week to Organ Donation Week followed us carrying out some audience research. This research gave us some useful insight into how we can make more impact with our marketing communications activities and highlighted how people perceive National Transplant Week and us focusing on words such as Transplant. We hope that by changing the name we will put more focus on the life-saving and life-transforming act of donation as without organ donors there would be no transplants.
Sally Johnson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation said; “I am pleased that we have been able to respond to requests from donor families and the public to rename Transplant week as Organ Donation Week. This gives everyone across the UK a special week to celebrate organ donors and their families and to consider and talk to family and friends about whether they are prepared to emulate our special donors and make the decision to donate their organs too.
“We hope that people across the UK will get behind the week and the opportunity it presents to focus people’s attention on organ donation. People waiting for transplants depend on people being willing to donate their organs and sadly on average three people die every day across the UK due to a shortage of donated organs.
“We know families are much more likely to support a relative’s decision to donate at a time of grief if they know that it what their relative wanted. If you, your organisation or company can help us to get people talking about donation this Organ Donation Week, please get in touch with us as we would love to hear from you. Help us make organ donation a part of everyday conversation.”