WORCESTERSHIRE is leading the way in patients choosing to donate their organs after their death.

Between April 2014 and March this year 12 patients who died in Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital donated a total of 50 organs – the greatest amount ever donated in the county in a single year.

As a result 37 patients in the county were able to receive much-needed transplants in the past year, putting the county above the national average in organ donation.

Last year your Worcester News helped change the life of mother-of-two Sally-Anne Granger of Warndon Villages, who suffers with cystic fibrosis and badly needed a kidney transplant.

After an appeal in the paper selfless dad-of-three Wes Joyce of Diglis came forward and agreed to donate his kidney to Miss Granger and the two had the life-changing procedure in October last year.

The figure was presented at a meeting of the board of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the three hospitals, on Wednesday, June 24, where interim chief medical officer Dr Andy Phillips welcomed the news.

“Tragically sometimes families are struck with an unexpected death of a loved one,” he said.

“For the many years after it families can often be comforted by the fact that they have assisted in organ donation.”

Dr Phillips said he was particularly proud of the sensitivity of medical colleagues whose job it is to raise the difficult subject with families, who are often still reeling from the unexpected death of a loved one.

“It’s a very, very difficult job to do right and I’m very proud to be part of an organisation that does this very, very well,” he said.

“We contribute significantly to this programme and we are doing better year on year.

“All this good work is recognised by the community.”

Associate non-executive director with the trust Professor Julian Bion said he believed organ donation should be discussed with patients nearing the end of their lives as a result of cancer or other conditions as a matter of course.

Of the 12 patients who donated their organs in Worcestershire last year, 11 were said to have suffered brain stem death – when they are only being kept alive by a ventilator but will never regain consciousness. The 12th had suffered circulatory death, when the heart stops working and cannot be repaired.

Assuming the organs are all intact and undamaged, one patient can donate their heart, lungs, pancreas, liver, small bowel and both their kidneys as well as their corneas. Bone, tissue and skin can also be transplanted.

The number of patients needed a transplant is expected to increase steeply over the next decade as a result of an ageing population, an increase in kidney failure and scientific advances meaning more people are eligible for transplants.

For more information on organ donation call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk.