NEW RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS NEED TO BRIDGE GAP BETWEEN GOOD INTENTIONS AND ACTION

AS the first multimedia campaign to promote organ donation rolls out across the UK today, new research reveals the gap between what we would take and what we are prepared to give. While 96% of us would accept an organ if we needed one, only 25% of people in the North West have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).  There are currently 899 people waiting for an organ transplant in the North West, with 54 people dying last year whilst waiting for an organ. There are 1,712,059 people on the organ donation register in the North West. 

Many of us (45%) have the best intentions to sign up to the ODR and commit to donate our organs for transplantation after our death, but just haven’t got round to it.  While some people are still unclear about how to register, a significant proportion of us (17%) are ready to act now. A further 19% need to involve their family in the decision. The campaign aims to increase significantly the number of people on the ODR, asking what we would do if someone we love needed an organ: if we would accept an organ, shouldn’t we be prepared to give one?

The gap highlighted by organ donation is mirrored by similar findings, which show that it’s not just the big things we’re prepared to take without returning the favour. 43% of people in the North West would accept a lift without offering one in return; 41% would borrow books, but haven’t lent their own. This lack of reciprocity is echoed in our daily life, where we intend to follow through on our best intentions without getting round to it: 24% of people in the North West intend to volunteer (above the national average of 22%), go to the gym (34%) and 26% want to go on a diet, but haven’t done so yet. 

More than 10,000 people in the UK overall currently need a transplant. Of these, over 1,000 - on average 3 a day - die every year before they receive an organ.

Lynda Hamlyn, Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant, said:- “Many people have told us that they just need a nudge to motivate them to join the Organ Donor Register and commit to helping someone live after their death. By focusing on the gap between the number of us who say we would accept an organ if we needed on and the number who have actually joined the Register, our campaign highlights the urgent need for those who believe in organ donation to act now.

More transplants were carried out last year than ever before, but the need for organs never stops. If you believe in organ donation, please register today and let those closest to you know that you have done so.”

Welcoming the campaign, Health Secretary Andy Burnham said:- "Each year, organ donors transform the lives of thousands of people. But despite this, three people die every day while waiting for a transplant.

More people are signing up to the Organ Donor Register than ever before, but many more are needed. 

Most of us support organ donation and the overwhelming majority would take an organ if we needed it.

I would urge everybody who supports organ donation to show it by signing up to the Organ Donor Register and discussing their wishes with their families."

Holly Shaw, 22 who was rushed to hospital in 2004 and diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure was on dialysis for four years before receiving a kidney transplant.  “Receiving a kidney made the difference between life and death for me.

I believe that if you would be willing to take an organ, you should join the Organ Donor Register. Please - do it today.”

If you believe in organ donation, prove it!  Register now at:- www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call:- 0300 123 23 23. 

For further information, please contact Hannah Berry on:- 020 7815 3928 or Hannah.Berry@munroforster.com.

1 in 10 shopworkers physically assaulted

1 in every 10 shopworkers has been physically assaulted whilst at work. This is the shocking figure revealed in the latest survey from Usdaw, the shopworkers' union.  The survey also reveals that 29% of shopworkers have experienced verbal abuse in the last month and 32% of shopworkers have been threatened in the last year.

This is totally unacceptable says Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett:- "Shopworkers are all too often assaulted, threatened and abused in the course of their work. They're in a pressurised environment, particularly in the run-up to Christmas time with increased sales and more stressed out customers.  Customers can get very frustrated over long queues or if the item they want is out of stock and they take it out on the shopworker."

This week Usdaw reps and activists will be running events in stores right across the UK to take the campaign to the shopping public. Shoppers are being asked to pledge to 'keep their cool at Christmas'. The campaign also lobbies MPs for more police and PCSOs patrolling the streets and use of monitored CCTV to protect customers and staff.

John Hannett continued:- "Another flashpoint for abuse is when customers are asked to prove their age. Usdaw members tell me that they've been hit, sworn at and threatened for refusing to serve alcohol and other age restricted products to a customer.

We want customers to be aware that shopworkers are under a lot of pressure to police the law on age-related sales and can be individually fined if they get it wrong. They are just doing their job so please carry ID when buying age-restricted goods. And even if things don't go as smoothly as you would like, please show shopworkers respect and keep your cool at Christmas."

EURO-MP CALLS FOR CANNABIS TO BE LEGAL

A North West Euro-MP who campaigns for the legalisation of cannabis has hit out at the decision by Home Secretary Alan Johnson to sack the government’s chief scientific advisor.  Chris Davies, claimed that the dismissal of Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, proved that official policy was now based on prejudice not on fact. 

The Liberal Democrat MEP, who has never taken an illegal drug but was convicted of cannabis possession in 2002 after taking part in a political protest against the law, accused the Home Secretary of trying to stifle dissent.  He said:- “David Nutt’s offence was to do his job as a scientist and to point out that there is no basis for regarding cannabis or ecstasy as more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco.  He is the equivalent of the boy who spoke up against public convention and said that the emperor was wearing no clothes.”

Davies claims that the government’s refusal to follow the example of Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal, where possession of small quantities of cannabis is not a criminal offence, pushes users of the drugs into the hands of heroin suppliers.

The MEP argues that the legal prohibition of drugs other than alcohol and tobacco has made criminals rich, and has provided money used to finance terrorist activities across the world.  He said:- “If people could buy cannabis from a chemist, they wouldn’t need to buy it from a heroin dealer. If Tesco supplied pot, the profits wouldn’t go to terrorists.”

He is calling for government policy to be based on a scientific assessment of the dangers from using all substances, and a clear separation between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ drugs.  Davies commented:- “Instead of sacking people who tell the truth about drugs, the Home Secretary should be taking action to tackle the alcohol-fuelled violence that makes our towns and cities such dangerous places every Saturday night."

What do you our readers think about this?  Email s now to news24@southportreporter.com.