Speak to your family about organ donation

Everyone is being encouraged to sit down with their loved ones and talk about their organ donation wishes. A family will always have to agree to donation, whether or not their loved one is on the Organ Donor Register. You can sign up to the register online.

Organ Donor Register

The organ donation system in Northern Ireland is based on opting in to being a donor, and donors’ families giving consent for their organs to be used.

Some families do not consent to the donation of their loved one’s organs, when faced with this choice. A common reason for refusing is that the potential donor’s family was not aware of their loved one’s wishes. So everyone is encouraged to make their organ donation intentions clear.

When you sign up to the Organ Donor Register you will be able to register to:

• be a donor
• not be a donor
• record the details of up to two representatives, if you feel you would want someone to make that decision for you after death

How to register

Every year around 15 people in Northern Ireland die while on the waiting list. By signing the register and talking to your family about your wishes, you could help save the lives of up to seven people. Organ donation really is the gift of life.

You can find out more, including how to join the register, on the page below:

• Organ donation

If you want to join the Organ Donor Register by phone or text, contact:

• telephone: 0300 123 23 23
• text: SAVE to 84118

Anyone can register on the Organ Donor Register. Age isn’t a barrier to being an organ or tissue donor, and neither are most medical conditions. People in their 70s and 80s have become donors and saved many lives.

More useful links

• Health conditions
• Health services
• NHS Blood and Transplant
• Organ donation Northern Ireland

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