NNUH to support Organ Donation Week 2018
Natalie Ashley and Debbie Walford, Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation
The Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital are excited to be involved in a lot of events and activities during Organ Donation Week 2018 (3rd-9th September).
The week will be kicking off on Monday 3rd September with Debbie Walford and Natalie Ashley, Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation, heading to Castle Mall Shopping Centre in Norwich City Centre to host the nationwide ‘Operation Donation’ game. As part of this, NHS Blood and Transplant has teamed up with board game company Hasbro to create a life size version of the much loved children’s game Operation™ to appear in shopping centres across the UK, and shoppers will be invited to see how much they know about the various organs in the body and learn how important it is to talk about organ donation. Debbie and Natalie will be at Castle Mall from 9am – 5.30pm.
Then on Tuesday 4th September, patients, visitors and staff are invited to the organ donation bus launch, where a First Norwich Bus (bus no. 26) will be showcasing its new organ donation design makeover on the main hospital site (front plaza) at 10am. In addition to the launch, Debbie and Natalie will also be on hand to answer questions about organ donation.
From the 3rd – 7th September, Norwich Castle will also be showing their support for Organ Donation Week by lighting up the castle pink, which is the organ donation identity colour.
In addition to the planned activities, there will also be information stands in the East Atrium level 2 on the main hospital site on Colney Lane, Norwich with leaflets highlighting key information about organ donation.
Debbie Walford, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation said: “We’ve got lots of activities planned for next week, where we will have the opportunity to speak with the members of the community about any questions they have about organ donation. We’re especially looking forward to the arrival of the bus and the awareness it will raise about organ donation.”
Debbie added: “We encourage people to chat about their organ donation wishes with loved ones. If you want to be a donor, your family’s support is still needed for donation to go ahead, even if you are on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Signing on to the register only takes a few minutes and you could save someone’s life.”
Professor Nancy Fontaine, Chief Nurse at NNUH said: “As a Trust, we’re proud to be supporting Organ Donation Week 2018 and we hope the planned activities during the week raise as much awareness as possible. Recent national figures revealed there were 22 lifesaving deceased organ donors at NNUH last year, helping the UK reach its highest ever number of donors, and we’re incredibly grateful to all the brave and selfless families who agreed to donate their loved one’s organs for lifesaving transplants.”
To join the Organ Donor Register visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk
Notes to editors
We would like to invite media to the bus launch on Tuesday 4th September at 10am on the main hospital site (in the front plaza, outside the POD café) where there will be an opportunity to take a photo of the bus and also to speak with Debbie Walford and Natalie Ashley, Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation at NNUH. There will also be a chance to speak with Tim Edwards, a Radiology Assistant at NNUH who is a kidney transplant recipient.
If you would like to attend the bus launch, please email communications@nnuh.nhs.uk
During the week on social media we will be showcasing the support for organ donation from our NNUH colleagues. We’d be very grateful if you could like and retweet from our main hospital account @NNUH