Organ donation a part of faith for Christians

More than two thirds of regular churchgoers in the UK say they would consider joining the NHS Organ Donor Register to be a part of their faith, or are open to the idea

In new findings published today to coincide with National Transplant Week (7-13 September), a 2015 survey by the fleshandblood campaign finds 72.9 per cent of churchgoers say that organ donation is, or could be, considered a part of their Christian giving. 

In addition, the research reveals that almost half (48 per cent) say they have already joined the NHS Organ Donor Register, in comparison to 31 per cent of the general population as officially recorded by NHS Blood and Transplant.

On average, three people die every day in the UK waiting for an organ transplant, with 6,943 people waiting on the Active Transplant List, 197 of which are under the age of 18, as of 20 August.

Baptists were just below the churchgoing average: 68.7 per cent of Baptist surveyed consider blood and organ donation a part of their giving or are open to the idea: this was up from 46.9 per cent in 2013, just prior to the fleshandblood campaign launching. Topping the survey were United Reformed Church/Congregationalist respondents (51.7 per cent in 2013, 80 per cent in 2015).

The fleshandblood campaign is the first national initiative between the NHS and the UK Church and has seen a 96 per cent increase in the number of local churches talking about organ donation since 2013, with 11.2 per cent of churchgoers having heard organ donation being promoted from the pulpit.

As National Transplant Week rolls out across the country, people are being encouraged to join the Seven Days to Say Yes I Donate campaign and talk to family and those close to them about organ donation.

Those who want to donate their organs after death are encouraged to join the NHS Organ Donor Register and, crucially, tell their family their organ donation decision, making it easier for them to give consent when the time comes.

Anthony Clarkson, Assistant Director of Organ Donation and Nursing for NHS Blood and Transplant, said, 'There continues to be a great need for people throughout the UK  to donate their organs after they have died.

'It is through partnerships like the fleshandblood campaign that we can raise awareness of the shortage of available organs for transplant and explain the need for people to talk about organ donation and share their decision with their loved ones, who can then in the event of their death allow their wish to donate to be realised.'

Previous activity during National Transplant Week has seen the Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, meeting with organ donation experts from NHS Blood and Transplant and the exclusive commissioning of a poem by Revd Dr Rowan Williams, reflecting on organ donation. In a 2014 world first, Carlisle Cathedral was gift-wrapped in 200 metres of three metre high ribbon to mark National Transplant Week, symbolising the gift of donation, the support of the Church of England and the wider UK Church.

The fleshandblood campaign has witnessed widespread support across churches, community groups and from government ministers, with over 50,000 local church leaders across the UK and Ireland having been directly resourced. 

This National Transplant Week support the Seven Days To Say Yes I Donate campaign and visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk to help those in need of a transplant by opting to donate organs and tissue.

The fleshandblood campaign directors are Matt and Juls Hollidge of the Kore creative agency and members of Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church