Cllr Krystle Fonyonga leads organ donor campaign Enfield becomes first UK local authority to enable residents to become organ donors from its website
Three people die every day on the waiting list for an organ transplant. To help tackle this, Enfield Council is launching a campaign during Organ Donation Week (5 to 11 September) to encourage people to sign up to be organ donors.
Enfield Council will become the first local authority in the United Kingdom to allow people to sign up to the organ donation register directly from its website. To mark this Deputy Leader, Cllr Achilleas Georgiou, did exactly that this week and pledged to be a lifesaver.
In Enfield:
– Around 80 people are currently on the waiting list to receive an organ donation
– Most of these people are waiting for kidneys, but also pancreas, heart, liver and lungs
– To date around 60,000 residents in Enfield, 19.5% of the population, are on the NHS organ donor register. Nationally the figure is 32%.
– There are usually between three and five deaths every year for people waiting for a transplant
– Approximately 50 people receive an organ per year.It is so easy to become an organ donor, anyone can join the register and there is no age limit for joining the register and recording your wish to be a donor.
Cllr Georgiou said: “Organ donation saves lives, it’s as simple as that and I am proud to sign up and join the millions of others who have said their organs can be used after their death.
“I have signed up today to pledge my support and I would urge everyone else to do the same, this one small action could save a life.”
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Public Health, Cllr Krystle Fonyonga, who joined the organ donor register when she was 18, said:
“In Enfield 80 people are waiting to receive a donor organ to save or dramatically improve the quality of their life. Many of these people have been waiting for years, and this includes young children.
“Please think about whether you would want an organ to be available to save your life if needed, or to save the life of a loved one and please do join the register today. In our borough we have below average levels of donors, and we desperately want to change that.
“Enfield Council is leading the way in encouraging people to support the cause by being the first local authority to allow people to sign up to be an organ donor directly from our website. It is simple, just log on to the Enfield Council website and click ‘Register / Sign In’ in the top right hand corner.
“When you register on the NHS Organ Donor Register, it’s really important that you tell those closest to you about your decision. Even if your name is on the register, your family will be asked about your donation.
“If they know you wanted to be a donor, it will be much easier for them to support your wish to donate at a difficult time. Please don’t leave it to chance. Spell it out clearly so they don’t have that burden of making a sudden decision should the worst happen.
“It takes less than two minutes to sign up, but your decision could save many lives in the event of your death.”
People can join the organ donor register by registering their details online at www.enfield.gov.uk (clicking Register / Sign In on the top right hand corner) or by calling 0300 123 23 23
Notes to Editors:
Caroline Baker is a member of staff at Enfield Council, and was the recipient of a donor kidney.
She is willing to tell her story about the issues surrounding organ donation, see below..
Caroline Baker
Organ Transplant Recipient (kidney)
I was diagnosed at 2 years old with Reflux Nephropathy (a condition in which the kidneys are damaged (scarred) by the backward flow of urine into the kidneys) caused by my ureters (tubes from the kidneys to the bladder) being too long. I had suffered with cystitis since birth and had been on antibiotics for two years. I was under North Middlesex Hospital, N18, and had an operation to shorten my ureters and reimplant them into my bladder when I was 10.
Shortly afterwards I transferred to University College Hospital, WC1, where I also had my Son at 27 having been told my kidneys were too poorly for me to have children! I then transferred with the renal unit to The Middlesex, WC1 under the ‘low clearance’ clinic. This means my kidney function was low, clearly deteriorating. My kidneys were badly scarred and scar tissue doesn’t work. I then transferred with the clinic to The Royal Free, Hampstead.
In March 2006 I was put on the organ donation register as my kidneys were so very poorly. I was very lucky that four people offered to be my donor and were ‘tissue typed’ so I went straight to live donor instead of dialysis. My brother (Richard Baker) was a match and we began the process with our dedicated nurse. He had an array of tests carried out in the June and the transplant date was set for 4th October 2006.
My brother went to theatre a few hours before me. I was taken to theatre 13! My surgeon held the kidney up to show me! Following surgery my surgeon said it was like putting a three litre engine in a mini (my Brother is 6’4”, I’m 5’3”!) and it began producing urine while they were stitching up!
I still have my native kidneys which don’t work at all and my new one is at the front – it’s put there so if there’s a problem it’s easier to get to. I’ll be taking anti rejection mediation for life, and other transplant related meds, which is a small price to pay. The Royal Free Renal Transplant Clinic is such a friendly place with lovely doctors and nurses who provide the most amazing support – I have check ups every four months. My brother has annual check ups and has the same function now, with one kidney, as he had with two!
If you’re facing a similar process and would like a confidential chat please do make contact, I’m happy to offer any advice and support I can to help.
Drop me an e-mail on carolinerenaltransplant2006@gmail.com
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