The Reader: New organ donation system gives hope to those on waiting lists

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Forefront: Great Ormond Street Hospital
In Pictures via Getty Images
12 September 2018
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Although tragic, Raheal Gabrasadig’s story is a powerful reminder of why people should speak to their families about their organ donation wishes [“Doctor who died of brain aneurysm aged 30 saves six lives by passing on her organs,” September 7].

The Government’s plans to introduce an opt-out organ donation system will provide hope for those on transplants waiting lists.

The vast majority of countries with the highest organ donation rates have an opt-out system. But evidence shows legislation alone is not enough.

A common theme in many of these countries is an investment in ongoing communications campaigns. The success of an opt-out system also relies on investment and training in healthcare professionals. The presence of specialist nurses at formal organ donation discussions with families has dramatically improved the numbers who agree for donation to go ahead, from 27 per cent when a specialist nurse is not present to 69 per cent when they are.

We now owe it to the thousands of people on the transplant waiting list to use this change as a basis for starting a national conversation about organ donation. A conversation like the one Raheal had with her family just months before she died.
Simon Gillespie
CEO, British Heart Foundation

EDITOR'S REPLY

Dear Simon

The edition of the Standard that reported Raheal Gabrasadig’s organ donation also featured the extraordinary story of Elliott Livingstone, the young boy who spent more than 400 days surviving on an artificial heart at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Elliott was only able to enrol for his first day at school after receiving a heart transplant. The altruism of donors such as Raheal lives on in patients such as Elliott.

The demand for organs is only expected to increase as the epidemic in obesity and diabetes drives rates of kidney failure. Four-fifths of the 6,000 people on the NHS transplant waiting list need a new kidney.Spain is regarded as having the world’s highest transplant rates. Some experts believe this has more to do with the number of healthcare professionals the country has trained to discuss donation with families rather than its “opt-out” system. As you suggest, the better the system, the greater the number of lives that can be saved.

Ross Lydall, Health Editor

High streets need to embrace tech

When the Government hiked up business rates I must confess to being rather bewildered, particularly at a time of such economic uncertainty. But despite the pain, the fittest are surviving. The unfit, uninspiring bland brands with drab products are now giving way to fresh ideas and talent.

Future kings of retail will be those who offer great experiences. We all love a deal — it releases endorphins and makes us feel special. Terrific value to be found in spacious clean well-appointed stores will bring back customers in their droves. The other opportunity is to embrace technology and abandon resistance to online business by deploying tech on the high street. This could include interactive virtual reality and a seamless link between touch, smell and feel. “Wow factor” digital visual displays could meet terrific, old-fashioned customer service, attention to detail and fun. We should not mourn the demise of the high street — it was ripe for an overhaul.
Michael Ferndale

Memorial must stay within budget

I support all the comments in Patricia Stoughton’s letter in Monday’s Evening Standard [“War Museum is right for memorial,” September 10].

I would simply add that the budget of £50 million set out by David Cameron when he was Prime Minister has only encouraged the 10 shortlisted designers to ignore the modest scale of Victoria Tower Gardens and to submit designs of such vast scale, in both plan and height, that will destroy the gentleness and tranquillity of this modest park for ever.

Let’s hope the final cost will be within budget, unlike two other memorials in London’s Royal Parks, to Diana Princess of Wales in Hyde Park and to Bomber Command in Green Park, which cost more than twice the budget yet were still completed (for £7 million). There needs to be a complete rethink.
Ivor Hall

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