The recent announcement follows reports that there are currently 200 people in Northern Ireland on the organ transplant waiting list. With only 33% of the local community registered on the organ donor list, the lack of supply to meet demand has resulted in 15 preventable deaths a year.

The Northern Ireland Transplant Association provides a service to all those going through the hardships of organ donation. By partnering with the charity, Belfast City Airport will be supporting numerous fundraising events throughout the year, with the hopes of raising crucial funds for the charity and promoting organ donation.

Erica Ferguson, Chairwoman for the Northern Ireland Transplant Association said: “This is an amazing opportunity for a small local charity like ourselves to be included in the charity efforts of a large organisation such as George Best Belfast City Airport.

“The partnership will be instrumental in boosting our presence with the public whilst also stressing the importance of signing onto the organ donor register and informing loved ones in advance. Each donor can save up to seven lives which is incredible!

“The funding from the airport will remain in Northern Ireland to help support local families affected by organ donation and transplantation. We provide travel expenses to hospitals for families to visit a loved one, personal necessities and any wheelchairs or other equipment to assist those in need as much as possible.

Stephen Patton, Human Resources Manager at George Best Belfast City Airport, said: “One of our key missions at Belfast City Airport is to support the local community by assisting charitable projects to carry out their vital work and help those in need.

“Organ donation is an ongoing issue in Northern Ireland and so many need to travel to the mainland to undergo a transplant each year, so working at the airport, our staff see just how many people are affected.

“All members of the Northern Ireland Transplant Association are voluntary workers, and both the Transplant Association and the Airport share the same community values which makes the charity a perfect choice for our partnership this year.

“Through the partnership, we hope to raise the profile of organ donation in Northern Ireland and with the amount of people travelling through the airport everyday this is very achievable.”

Courtesy of Business First Online

BMA Northern Ireland debates organ donation soft opt out with Health Minister Edwin Poots. The British Medical Association in Northern Ireland today encouraged the Health Minister to adopt a system of presumed consent for organ donation at a round table discussion held at Parliament Buildings. Speaking at the event the Association’s chair, Dr Paul Darragh said lives would be saved and much suffering alleviated as a result.

“The time has come for the whole of society in Northern Ireland to look seriously at the issues surrounding organ donation. With over 200 people in Northern Ireland waiting on a transplant and only 30% of the population on the donor register we need to address this problem as a matter of urgency.” With less than a third of the population in Northern Ireland on the organ donation register, BMA Northern Ireland believes that a ‘soft’ opt-out option would increase organ donations, by making donation the default position from which people may opt out during their lifetime if they so wish.

Dr Darragh added, “Losing a loved one is a difficult time for any family. It is important that individual’s and family’s wishes on organ donation are taken into consideration following their death. The ‘soft’ opt-out approach will help us deal with the current issue of a shortage of organs for transplants, whilst also retaining sensitivity to the wishes of the potential donor’s relatives.” Jo-Anne Dobson MLA, former GAA player Joe Brolly who donated his kidney to Shane Finnegan and Chair of NI Transplant Association Erica Ferguson, all of whom have had personal experience of organ transplants, participated in the discussion. Erica Ferguson is grateful to have received a liver transplant. She contracted a serious liver condition that immediately put her life in danger, giving her only days to live. “I had 48 hours to live and the first available liver in the whole of Europe had to be given to me, so I went on the international register for a life-saving transplant.”

“If it hadn’t been for that liver I would be dead. I have managed to see my daughter go to university, she was 8 when I got ill, I might not have been here and I might not have seen her grow up – so for a stranger who I never knew and never will to give me the gift of life, show compassion at the worst time in someone’s life, it’s amazing.” Commenting at the BMA event in support of opt out legislation Joe said, “The opt out proposition is very subtle but would deliver a sea change in terms of the numbers of people receiving organs, making a profound impact upon the lives of many families. There are no losers in this.” Shane added, “The presumption, in this system, is that a person wishes to donate unless they opt out but crucially the family will always have the final say enshrining the altruism within organ donation – a sacred gift from one family to another.”