People across the Black Country and West Birmingham are being encouraged to take just two minutes to confirm their organ donation decision, as local NHS teams support Organ Donation Week 2026.
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and are joining the national campaign, which runs from 21 to 27 September, encouraging people to record their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register and talk to their loved ones about their decision. This year’s campaign comes at a particularly important time. More than 8,000 people across the UK are waiting for a life-changing transplant, while more than 400 people died last year while waiting. Confirming a decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register takes just two minutes.
For communities across Dudley, Sandwell, the wider Black Country and West Birmingham, NHS teams are using the week to encourage people not only to make their own decision, but to tell their family what that decision is. Dr Kieran Donnelly, Critical Care Consultant at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, speaking in his role as hospital Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, said: “Organ donation is an extraordinary gift. At what is an incredibly difficult time for one family, their decision can offer hope and the chance of life to other people and their loved ones. I see firsthand how it affects those in the most difficult circumstances they may ever face, but the decision is life saving for someone else, and to know that the most generous gift is within their hands, can bring some comfort at a desperately painful time.
“We encourage everyone across the Black Country to take just two minutes to record their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register. But please don’t stop there. Have the conversation with the people closest to you and make sure they know what you would want. For families facing the loss of someone they love, knowing that person’s wishes can make an enormously difficult decision a little easier. Those few minutes spent registering and talking today could ultimately help save lives.”
Knowing someone’s wishes matters because families are consulted before donation takes place. Fewer than half of families agree to donation when they do not know what their loved one wanted, while nine in ten bereaved families support donation when it has previously been discussed. England operates an opt-out system, meaning most adults are considered potential organ donors unless they have recorded a decision not to donate or are in an excluded group. People can choose whether to donate all, some or none of their organs and tissue. The NHS Organ Donor Register can record decisions relating to the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, small bowel, corneas and tissue.
One donor has the potential to save up to nine lives, making a decision that takes only minutes potentially one of the most important a person can make. People can record or update their organ donation decision online through the NHS Organ Donor Register: www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-to-donate/ The decision can also be checked and managed using the NHS App.