Register to donate organs (living and deceased)
At ACLT, we are dedicated to getting more people to sign up for the organ donation (living and deceased) registers. We also highlight the severe shortage of donors of Black heritage and we work towards diversifying the registers.
ACLT does not take donations, we work with organisations such as NHS Blood and Transplant to encourage people to sign up to their registers.
Why should I register to donate my organs?
Right now, in the UK, thousands of people are waiting on organ transplants, and most will die without one. We understand that the thought of donating your organs can seem daunting, but ACLT believes that this is mostly due to misinformation that circulates.
You can head over to the NHS website, where Specialist Nurse Lucy addresses concerns and myths about organ donation. Find out more.
Who can register to donate?
There is no age limit to becoming an organ donor. Parents and guardians can register their children, and children can register themselves.
(Children who are under 12 in Scotland and under 18 in the rest of the UK at the time of registration will require their parent or guardian’s agreement for donation to take place.)
Having an illness or medical condition doesn’t automatically disqualify someone from becoming an organ or tissue donor. The determination of organ or tissue suitability for transplantation is made by medical specialists during the donation process.
A person cannot become an organ donor if they have or are suspected of having Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), Ebola virus disease, active cancer, or, HIV*
*There have been rare cases in which the organs of donors with HIV have been used to help others with the same conditions. If you have HIV and wish to be a donor, you can still register to donate, as your organs may still be suitable for donation.
Can you tell me more about organ donation?
Living organ donation involves a person donating a vital organ, like a liver or kidney, to be transplanted into someone in need. Benefits include shorter wait times, fewer complications, and longer-lasting organs compared to deceased donors.
You can find out more about living organ donations – here.
In the event of your death, your organs, blood type, and tissue type will be evaluated. The health and types will be compared to those of the potential recipient. If they are a strong enough match, with the consent of your next of kin, your organ/s will be transplanted and could potentially allow someone to go on to live a long and lasting life.
You can find out more about deceased organ donations – here.
Does race, or ethnicity matter in organ donation?
For many patients requiring a kidney or liver transplant, the most compatible match often comes from a donor from the same ethnic background, and we encourage everyone to register.
Black African and Caribbean patients often must wait significantly longer for a successful match than white patients, due to a shortage of suitably matched donors. So, in this sense race and ethnicity do matter, and that is why ACLT is working to register more people of these heritages, to make transplant wait times shorter.
