Organ donation: Don't Leave Your Loved Ones in Doubt!

Organ Donor Awareness Week 2024 begins today and runs until Saturday 27 April, writes Brian Byrne. This year's campaign is built around the theme Don't Leave Your Loved Ones in Doubt!

An average of 283 organ transplants are carried out each year in Ireland. In 2023, 252 transplants came from 95 deceased donors and 30 from living people. The highest number involved kidneys with 161 transplants, followed by liver (54), lungs (24), along with heart (7) and pancreas (6) transplants. 

The IKA are asking the public to use Organ Donor Awareness Week as a prompt to have a family discussion about organ donation. The Human Tissue Bill was signed into law by the President, Michael D Higgins, on February 28th this year, and will allow for the introduction of altruistic donation and an opt-out register. Even after the new legislation commences, consent for organ retrieval will continue to be sought from the families of all potential organ donors. By sharing your wishes when you are in good health you are helping your family to act on your behalf in the event of you being a potential organ donor.

By requesting an organ donor card you are letting the 600+ people, and their families, who are currently waiting for ‘the call’ that there are people out there who are thinking of them. Only about 1pc of deaths occur in circumstances of potential organ donation, so those people waiting for a transplant cannot afford to miss any opportunities because a person’s wishes are unknown.

Carry the organ donor card. Allow Code 115 to be included on your driver’s license. Put the ‘digital organ donor card’ App on your smartphone. 

Organ Donor Cards can be requested by visiting the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) website or phoning the IKA on 01 6205306.

Organ Donor Awareness Week is organised by the Irish Kidney Association in association with the HSE's Organ Donation Transplant Ireland. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy