Mike Hedges AM Welcomes Vaughan Gethin’s statement on living donors.

Mike Hedges AM Welcomes Vaughan Gethin’s statement on living donors.
Speaking during the week when he sponsors an event for the Paul Popham Fund ( a Charity based in Mike Hedges Swansea East constituency focusing on Kidney disease and raising money for Kidney Research), Mike Hedges AM said…. ‘through my Friendship with Paul Popham and involvement in the Paul Popham fund and the events they organise, I have met many people who have had kidney disease and know what a debilitating illness it can be; I also know how lives can be transformed by transplants. I had an organ donor card for many years before the change in the law which assumes consent in the event of an early death. I would certainly consider being a live donor if that would facilitate another person having the chance of a good and healthy life.
I would urge people to look at the events occurring this week regarding world Kidney day and consider being a live donor.
At the start of a week-long focus on living organ donation, Wales’ Health Minister Vaughan Gething will today spread the message that living donors help save lives.

Every year more than 250 patients die waiting for a kidney transplant. There are not enough kidneys donated from people who have died for everyone who needs a transplant. The average waiting time for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor is approximately two years and in rare cases can be over five years.
Kidneys are the most common organ donated by living people but other organs can be donated, including part of a liver, a segment of a lung and part of the small bowel. A transplant from a matched living donor provides the best outcome for the recipient.
Peoples’ lives can be changed by a living donation, resulting in shorter waiting times, avoiding dialysis and an improvement to the quality and length of someone’s life. Everyone has two kidneys and a healthy person can lead a completely normal life with only one working kidney.
The focus on living donation coincides with World Kidney Day on Thursday 14 March and highlights how the selfless and generous act of becoming a living organ donor can improve another person’s life.
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said:
“Living donors help save and transform lives, offering more patients with kidney failure, and other diseases, the possibility of a successful transplant.
“We are leading the way on consent to deceased organ donation in Wales, but while there are still people dying waiting for a transplant, we must work harder to further increase awareness of the possibility of living donation.
“Often, living donors are close relatives or friends but you can still donate an organ to someone you do not know. I would encourage people across Wales, and the UK as a whole, to consider becoming a living donor – it’s a decision that could potentially be life changing for someone.”