More people in Nottinghamshire donate organs, but more than 90 are still waiting

New figures revealed that over the last year, 22 people in Nottinghamshire have become deceased organ donors – a local woman tells how she would not be alive today. without the gift of life.

increase in the number of donors over the past year – with only eight people in the county who donated after their deaths in 2007/08.

NHS Blood and Transplant published the figures to mark the publication of its annual report on transplantation activities today.

A mother from Nottingham knows how important it is for people to donate their organs – because it saves their lives.

Emma Croghan had a liver transplant at age seven and celebrated her 25th birthday this year.

At the time of her operation, she was severely jaundiced and underweight and her liver function was only five percent; she only had a few days to live.

She said, "I understood enough to know that the transplant was"

Emma was born with biliary atresia, which meant that her bile ducts were not working not properly and that she was suffering from an accumulation of bile in her liver .

By the time Emma got the call for her transplant, she was only three or four years old.

She had just arrived from school. when the call came to go to Kings College in London.

She added, "I remember there was a lot of crying … I was excited because it was going to be the visit to the hospital that would make me better."

"This It was only later that I knew how close I was to death. "

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Emma was informed that it would be necessary three months to recover from the hospital within three weeks.

She said: "I had always been sick so I did not know better. It was only later that I felt much better and realized how much I had been sick.

Emma is studying French at the University of Nottingham and is now working as a trainer for Specsavers. She married Paul Croghan, a computer badyst for Spacesavers, and they had their son William.

Emma knows that her donor was a young boy and each year, the day before her transplant anniversary, Emma and her family have their donor in their thoughts.

She said: "It is at this point that I think of the donor and the donor family because it is the day of the call. . "

sent letters updating the boy's family on Emma's progress, via the NHS, including on the birth of her son.

Emma said that she began writing a thank-you letter many times, but that she never felt able to put her feelings into words .

"What can I say?" Said Emma. "I am in a position where I would not be literally here without donation of organs."

"I can not imagine how horrible it must have been for my donor's family .

"I hope that having the letters over the years has made things a bit easier for them over the years or at least has given them the Impression that they were making the right choice.

"May God not allow anything to happen to my family, but I'm sure if it was the case, I would do the same thing. "

increasingly supports the donation of organs in Nottinghamshire and throughout the country.At the national scale, there was a record number of organ donors, with 1,574 people saving lives through the donation of deceased organs over the past year

However, the general donor shortage remains and there is an urgent need for more people to support the donation.About three people die each day from an organ donation, but many people have never said to the loved ones that they wanted to save lives. Let your family know that you want to donate, it will be much easier for them to support what you want.

There are still 91 Nottinghamshire people on the waiting list for transplantation and a given organ is the last and only hope for many people on the list.

Sally Johnson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said, "We are incredibly grateful to all families in Nottinghamshire who have chosen to say 'yes' to the gift of 39; organs.

"The donation of organs is the only hope for many seriously ill people.

"We know that many families feel a sense of pride and comfort because of their decision to save lives through organ donation. We want more people to have this opportunity.

"We need more than 50 years in Nottinghamshire to support donation."

"Older people can still save and transform lives through donating organs and tissues." Many more lives could be saved by telling their families that they want to donate. "