Valentine’s day is known by many to be a time of love.  So why not show a little love and save a life? National Donor Day is a day to increase awareness about organ donation and the lives that can be saved.  There is an disturbing number of people suffering - in the United States alone, there are more than 120,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ donation. In the UK, more than 400 people died only last year waiting for a vital organ to save their life, an organ that they would never receive. 270 were children.

National Donor Day focuses on five types of donations:  organs, tissues, blood, platelets and bone marrow.  There are two types of donations – living and deceased. Living donations consist of tissue, liver and kidneys. Deceased donors can donate anything that can be used. In fact, roughly one third of kidney donations are from living donors. Many selfless charities sponsor blood, marrow, tissue and organ sign-ups across the country. Just one donor can save up to 8 lives and help up to 75 people through the eyes and tissue. You can donate: kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, small bowel, corneas, tissue, small Intestine, skin tissues, bone tissues, heart valves and veins.

 National Donor Day was established in 1998 by the ‘Saturn Corporation’ and its United Auto Workers partners. With the assistants of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and many other non-profit health organizations and charities. The ways that have been encouraged you observe this day are: consider becoming a donor, educate and research into donations, share the news on social media - #NationalDonorDay to spread awareness.

Cara Dixon, Thamesview