Saturday 24 March 2012

Lil Miss Busy: What's been happening...

Hi guys! Sorry about the lack of blog posts lately! I've just handed in my dissertation, and generally been really busy with university work! 

One of the biggest things that has happened this year is that my dad had a kidney transplant on Saturday 17th March!)



My dad has been on the waiting list for seven years. So for seven whole years, he had to do manual dialysis four times a day, not drink much water, not eat vegetables and fruits and so on!

The donor (who unfortunately passed away) has given a whole new lease of life to my father. My dad's life expectancy has increased, and his quality of life has improved.

I know this blog post is quite personal, compared to most of my posts, but I feel strongly about organ donation. Hopefully this post will save a few people's live!

What is organ donation?

Organ donation is the gift of an organ to help someone who needs a transplant.

How do you become an organ donor? 

You can fill in this form, or you can join when you are: 
  • Registering for a driving licence
  • Applying for a Boots Advantage card
  • Registering at a GP surgery
  • Registering for a European Health Insurance card 
 What is the NHS Organ Donor Register?
 
The NHS Organ Donor Register is, quite literally, a life-saver. It is a confidential, computerised database which holds the wishes of more than 16 million people who have decided that, after their death, they want to leave a legacy of life for others. The register is used to help establish whether a person wanted to donate and, if so, what.


Here are some statistics:

In the UK between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011:
  • 3,740 organ transplants were carried out, thanks to the generosity of 2,055 donors.
  • 1,008 lives were saved in the UK through a heart, lung, liver or combined heart/lungs, liver/kidney, liver/pancreas or heart/kidney transplant.
  • 2,732 patients' lives were dramatically improved by a kidney or pancreas transplant, 156 of whom received a combined kidney/pancreas transplant.
  • A further 3,564 people had their sight restored through a cornea transplant.
  • A record number of 567 non-heart beating donor kidney transplants took place and accounted for one in five of all kidney transplants.
  • 1,045 living donor kidney transplants were carried out accounting for more than a third of all kidney transplants. 'Non-directed' living donor transplants (also known as altruistic donor transplants) and paired and pooled donations contributed more than 60 kidney transplants between them.
  • Almost 675,000 more people pledged to help others after their death by registering their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register, bringing the total to 17,751,795 (March 2011). 


You can read more about organ donation here.

17 comments:

  1. Absolutely loved this post, regardless of whether it's off the tangent. I believe in organ donation too and I'm so happy for your father, yourself and family for the new hope you've been given. My younger sister suffered from a severe kidney disease for many years and was almost on the verge of having to have a kidney transplant but thankfully, she's a lot better now and has gone from taking 30 medicines to 0 this year!

    Thanks for this post!! :)

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    1. That's brilliant, I'm so happy for your sister! Thank you for your wonderful reply xx

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  2. Aww, Roshni this is such a beautiful and touching post. I've signed up to donate everything (apart from my eyes and heart) when I pass away, because I believe that if you can benefit someone else then why not? I think those statistics are quite low considering the population of the UK (over 60 million). I hope more awareness is raised in the future so that everyone can get involved!
    Ayesha xx

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    1. That is so true - many people don't even know it exists! It's a shame really!! xx Thank you xx

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  3. This is such a beautiful post. I registered also when I did my driving licence. Really good to give somethibg back. Really happy for you and your family especially your dad. Xx

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  4. So happy for you and your dad, so glad he found a donor! Sending all my wishes for a quick recovery from the surgery xxx


    www.misslv.com

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  5. I've had a relative too who's had a transplant (not kidney though) and it really does change your outlook on organ donation. Definitely an advocate for it. I'm so glad your dad has got his transplant, it was so worrying waiting and not knowing when it would come. Hope he recovers quickly. xx

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    1. It definitely does! More awareness needs to placed on organ donation! It's important for people to realise what they would want if they were in the same situation! SO true - thank you xx

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  6. Such an amazing and enlightning post, thanks Roshni. So pleased for you, your dad and your family xx

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  7. Thanks for sharing this post. So happy for your dad and your family. Praying everything goes well. :)

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  8. So glad to hear your dad is okay :) Your family must be over the moon! xx

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  9. So happy to hear your dad is okay! Your post has definetly given me something to think about! x

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I love reading your lovely comments, they make my day :)