Campaign posters and Organ Donation in the news...

Hello!

A few of you have got in touch regarding my meeting with the Department for Children, Schools and Families which is great, if you have any more suggestions or ideas then please do get in contact!

A funny thing happened to me the other day, I was in my local WH Smiths and was at the till and the cashier said to me "Have you been on tele, I recognise your face!" to which I went rather red and said yes. I asked her what she had seen me on, wondering if it was GMTV or the Battlefront programme! She replied with "Oh I don't know, probably some rubbish on Channel 5!" I don't know if she thought I was an actress or something so I just said oh right it was probably channel4 I've been on there recently! Ha Ha! What a strange experience!

Anyway I had a quick play with the pictures from my photoshoot (see previous post) and this is what I came up with....


Not bad for an amateur? Let me know what you think....

There has also been some encouraging information in the news regarding Organ Donation.

Latest NHS figures show that UK Transplants are at a record high! There were 3,504 organ transplants between April 2008 and March 2009, up 8% on the previous 12 months.

There is still a huge amount of work to be done though... The NHS warned the need for donations had "never been greater", with 10,000 people waiting for a transplant.

The figures from NHS Blood and Transplant also show there was a 7% increase in the number of people joining the Organ Donor Register last year, with the total rising from 15.14 million to 16.12 million by the end of March 2009.

There was an increase in the number of deceased organ donors from 809 in 2007-08 to 900 last year and an increase in living organ donation, from 852 in 2007-08 to 944 in 2008-09. To read the full article click here.

However even though this is great news, there are still some recent stories out there which don't show Organ Donation in such a great light such as this article here: Organ Donation: is it ever right not to save a life? It is about a chap who received a new liver after damaging his taking an overdose, he is still depressed and has brain damage due to the overdose requiring him to have 24 hour care. There is often debate about the similar topic of should recovering alcoholics receive liver transplants.

Its a tough one and I can totally see both sides of the argument, I feel everyone has the right to live and the right to a transplant, however I also feel that if you would be willing to receive a transplant then you should be willing to donate your organs after your death and finally I feel that if you are given the Gift of Life then you should treasure it. (note: these are just my own opinions)

Stories like these do jeopardise people on the list waiting for a liver transplant, in fact it affects everyone waiting for a transplant. It puts people signing the Organ Donor Register and yet there are thousands of people that are in dire need and people signing up, need to be reassured of this. Jessica Wales is one of those people who is desperate need of a double lung transplant she has been waiting a staggering 1413 days! If that doesn't spur you on to sign up then I don't know what will!