STAFF from Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT), which runs Okehampton Hospital, have joined a national campaign to encourage people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

NHS Blood and Transplant is calling on people to help ‘Turn an End, Into a Beginning’. The campaign encourages people to talk about organ donation with their family and friends.

Trust staff at North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) have been pledging their support for the campaign. Sodexo and South West Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) staff have also got involved with the campaign.

On average, three people in need of a transplant die every day due to the shortage of people willing to donate. There are over 6,500 people currently on the transplant waiting list and organ donation rates have dropped by 3% in the last year, which this year’s campaign is hoping to address.

Sarah Fuller, specialist nurse in organ donation for the trust, said: ‘By joining the NHS Organ Donor Register and talking about your decision with friends and family you could help “turn an end into a beginning”.’

Further information can be found at information stands at NDDH.