Boston, Grantham and Lincoln’s hospitals will be illuminated each evening from Monday 23 to Sunday 29 September 2024.
This year is particularly poignant as it is the 30th anniversary of the creation of the NHS Organ Donor Register. The register was created in 1994 and has led to thousands of lives being saved thanks to people agreeing to donate their organs after death by confirming their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Permanent memorials to Lincolnshire’s donors can be found in the main entrances at Lincoln County Hospital and Pilgrim Hospital, Boston.
One of leaves added to Boston’s tree this year celebrates the memory of Adi Whiting. Adi (35) died in January 2024, 10 days after he was brutally attacked outside his place of work in Boston while trying to intervene in a dispute between two other people.
He was initially taken to the Boston’s Emergency Department before being transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for specialist care.
Adi’s mum Debbie Paul said: “When we were told that there was only a very small chance that Adi might pull through I remember saying to the doctor that he would want to donate his organs. Adi was one of those people who was always helping others.
“Everyone knew him or recognised him. He had his hair in a Mohican which changed colour every week. He was a lovable rogue; a character right from leaving school.”
Adi’s family were told their decision to donate his organs saved the lives of five other people, who received his lungs, heart, liver and kidneys. His pancreas and brain were also used to support life-saving research.
Debbie added: “I find it comforting to know that part of Adi is out there, and I am so pleased that five people have benefited and have got the chance to have a decent life.
“It was not a hard decision for us to make, in fact I feel it was a very good one, because we knew what Adi wanted.”
According to NHS Blood and Transplant, more people than ever before are in need for a life-saving transplant across the UK, with more than 7,600 people on the active waiting list, including 94 in Lincolnshire (as of 31 July 2024).
The Organ Donor Register was set up to promote organ donation and allow people to record their decision to donate. It was the result of a five-year campaign by John Cox and his daughter Christine after their son and brother, Peter, died in 1989. He had asked for his organs to be used to help others.
This year’s Organ Donation Week campaign, led by NHS Blood and Transplant, asks people to confirm their decision to donate on the Organ Donor Register.
Consultant Dr Gary Wilbourn, who is the Clinical Lead for Organ Donation at Lincoln County Hospital and part of the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit Team, said: “It is a great privilege to provide care and support to patients and their families at what can be a difficult and devastating time in their lives. We work closely with colleagues such as our specialist nurse for organ donation to ensure they can make informed choices and fulfil the wishes of their loved ones.
“Confirming your decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register makes it clear to your family that you want to be an organ donor, leaving them certain of your decision.”
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Every day across the UK thousands of patients and their families are waiting for a life-saving call. But this can often only happen as a result of another family receiving very difficult news and supporting organ donation to help others.
“Thanks to the Cox family’s relentless campaigning the NHS Organ Donor Register has potentially saved the lives of thousands of people. This is an incredible legacy for Peter, and we are so very grateful to the whole Cox family for their tireless work over the years which made this possible.
“With more people, both adults and children, waiting for transplants, it’s more important than ever to confirm your organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. We urge everyone to take a moment this Organ Donation Week to register and confirm your decision.”
To find out more and confirm your decision, visit the NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk. Users of the NHS app, can also use this to record, check or amend their details or decision.