Donor appeal: Brendan Joyce

A drive to turn around a worrying drop in the number of people signing up as prospective organ donors in Norfolk is being spearheaded by leading nature conservationist Brendan Joyce, whose own life was saved by a liver transplant.

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The number of people added to the organ donor register in the county last year fell to 14,978 from 16,066 in 2010.

The significant fall, disclosed by health minister Anne Milton, comes against a stark backdrop of three people dying a day nationally due to a lack of suitable organs.

Smaller decreases were also registered in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

Mr Joyce, 54, who is the longest-serving director of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said it was vital to raise awareness of the growing need for donors and to use education to dispel people’s concerns and reassure prospective donors they are doing the right thing.

A recent winner of the prestigious Christopher Cadbury medal for his conservation achievements, he was diagnosed with liver cancer in May 2009 but faced an agonising wait until the following February before a liver became available and he was able to undergo the transplant at Cambridge’s Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

He emphasised the fact that it must have been a great comfort for the family of the donor - to whom he had written via the hospital - to know his organs had saved five lives.

Mr Joyce, of Hellesdon, Norwich, said: “The liver I received got split into two so a child who was going to die within days was also saved.

“I was one of the lucky ones as there are not enough organs around; the tragic number of people who die on the waiting list could be avoided if there were more donors.

“I wonder how a family feels when they know their loved one could have been saved?”

Mr Joyce, who now provides a layman’s perspective on the organ donor committee at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said a number of myths put prospective donors off.

“For example people are squeamish at the thought of their whole eyes being used in transplants when in fact it is just the corneas and lenses which are used,” he said.

Mr Joyce said in the longer term a system of presumed consent in respect of organ donation would have to be seriously looked at.

However, there would have to be a lot of debate on that and in the shorter term they would have to use education to continue raising awareness.

Sally Johnson, director of organ donation at NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Our research shows that while more than 90pc of people would take an organ if they needed one, we need more people to give their consent for their own organs to be used by signing up to the organ donor register now and telling their families of their wishes.

“We work with a range of charities, individuals and other organisations to raise awareness of the need for donation.

“With three people a day dying due to lack of a suitable organ it is important that we do everything we can to increase the number of organs available for transplant. One of the key areas is securing the agreement of the family when someone dies in a situation where they can be a donor.”

Paul Gibbs, clinical director for transplantation at Cambridge University Hospitals, said: “Transplants are one of the miracles of modern medicine and the best possible treatment for most patients with end-stage organ failure. However, there is still a desperate shortage of donor organs.

“At the end of March 2011, there were 7,800 patients across the country waiting for a transplant, while 511 people died in the previous financial year before they could receive a life-saving transplant.

“Last year, we carried out more than 250 transplants at Addenbrooke’s, which included liver, pancreas and multi-organ transplants. However, we are able to perform many more operations, and would encourage more people to discuss their wishes with their family.”

For more information about registering as a donor, call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk