Organ Donation

Update: 3rd August 2016 As published in the Autumn 2016 issue of Townswoman, this mandate was passed unanimously at the AGM.

TG firmly believes that next of kin should not have the right to prevent doctors from taking any parts from the body that a registered donor has consented to donate. 

This topic has been proposed by Colwyn Coffee TG and will be debated at the AGM in Bournemouth on Tuesday 28th June. More information will be printed in the Summer 2016 issue of Townswoman, which will be issued towards the end of April. If you still have it, there is also some information in the December 2006 issue which, while now ten years old still provides solid background to the topic.

TG has campaigned on issues surrounding organ donation before, following a mandate passed in 1999:

Townswomen's Guilds in Council assembled urges HM Government not to amend the law to allow organ donation by presumed consent.

Since then, matters have progressed and Wales now has a system of presumed consent in place. However, please note that this is not what we will be discussing at the AGM; the focus of the mandate is on next of kin refusing to allow organs to be taken from registered donors and so too should your research and discussion in advance of the AGM.

Taking Action

In light of the mandate being passed, TGHQ has been working to further our campaign and spread the word; however, we need our members to get as involved as possible if we really want this campaign to make an impact. While the crux of the issue surrounds getting families to talk about their wishes ahead of time, this mandate allows us to spread our reach and educate communities around us.

Some suggestions of how you might do this were included in the Autumn 2016 issue of ?Townswoman? and more information will be included in the mailing.

References

NHS Organ Donation
https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/nhsorgandonor
https://twitter.com/NHSOrganDonor

NHS Blood and Transplant
http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/nhsbloodandtransplant
https://twitter.com/nhsbt