This week is Organ Donation Week (Monday 22nd September – Sunday 28th September), and this year we are urging anyone who has not yet done so, to sign up to the organ donor register to help save lives. Every day, somebody will die waiting for a transplant they so urgently need, with 400 people dying last year while waiting for an organ transplant. You are more likely to need a transplant than be a donor, and most people would accept an organ if they needed one.
Vikki Whittle from Wigan, tells us the story of her mum, Gillian, who donated her organs following her death in 2019, and was cared for at WWL.
“My mum, our very own Mary Poppins - Gillian (Gill) Tagg was the most amazing, loving and kind soul you could ever meet. She was a hairdresser by trade but stopped working when I was born to look after me and my younger brother. Once we left school she worked as a dinner lady in a school for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and later moved to my daughter’s school so she could see her every day. All the children at the school loved mum with many of them attending her funeral – such a moving testament to how much she was loved.
“I can always remember my mum saying that she wanted to be an organ donor as she would say, ‘I won’t need them when I go’, and when mum was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) after 12 months of testing, our world fell apart. This cruel disease took her speech first, but she still went to work, and the children would read her notes to them, which she used to communicate. This wasn’t possible with the younger children who couldn’t read yet and I know this must have been frustrating for her, but she worked for as long as she could.
“As the disease progressed, she talked about donating her brain and spinal column to MND research and we said that we would do this for her. The disease took my mum just 18 months after her diagnosis, when she was 65 years young. My mum and dad were enjoying life, loving spending time with their two granddaughters, before this disease destroyed all our lives by taking her too soon.
“My mum donated her kidneys and liver and helped others in their time of need. Always wanting to help others when she was here, I’m so proud that by telling me that she wanted to be an organ donor all those years ago, mum has now helped others. It also makes me proud that she thought of others suffering with this cruel disease and contributing to MND research.
“Our lives will never be the same without her, but we were blessed to have the best Mum, Wife, Grandma, Sister, Auntie and friend. All my direct family are going to be organ donors when the time comes and we will help others, just like mum did. We would like to thank again the staff on the Intensive Care Unit and the donor nurses at WWL. Without your support and care we could not have got through it.”
Vikki Lloyd, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation in the North West, who is based at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan, said: “Last year, 4,583 people had their lives transformed through organ donation. If more people confirmed their decision as organ donors, we could save and transform lives, helping to reduce the number of people dying while waiting on the transplant list. One person could save up to nine lives, so do something good today and make your decision to add your name to the organ donor register. Once you have done this, share your decision amongst your friends and family, urging them to do the same.”
To find out more, and confirm your support for organ donation, visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or use the NHS app.
Organ donation
- It is quick and easy to register your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk
- Families are always involved in organ donation discussions. You can make things easier for your family by telling them you want this to happen.
- Anyone can join the NHS Organ Donor Register; age and medical conditions are not necessarily a barrier to donation.
- One donor can save or transform up to nine lives through organ donation and save and transform even more by donating tissue.