There has been a big campaign to encourage more organ donation in the UK.
Every day 3 people die in the UK because there is no suitable organ available.
Research shows that while 90% of people say they believe in organ donation and would accept an organ if they needed it, 40% of families say no when it comes to allowing their loved ones’ organs to be taken.
The campaign is trying to encourage more people to join the organ donor register.
However, even if you have signed up to the register, it’s still up to your family to give permission for your organs to be used.
Transplant co-ordinator, Dr Linda Warne, says many families say no to organ donation because they are “very worried about going against anyone’s wishes”.
She says that it’s important for people to make clear to their families what they want at the end of their life, so that if they are asked about organ donation “they will know they’ve fulfilled the person’s wishes”.
Some campaigners are calling for an ‘opt-out’ instead of an ‘opt-in’ system where everyone in the UK would automatically be put on the organ donor register unless they say otherwise.
What are your feelings about organ donation? Do you have any ideas about what could be done to encourage more people to register to donate their organs? Write to us in English!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/learningenglish/2010/03/100324_le_donor_main.shtml
Ottawa International Poets and Writers for human Rights (OIPWHR)
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