Call for organ donor memorial at new hospital

Deputy Lucy Stephenson said organ donors should be "thanked and recognised"

A public memorial to organ donation could be created at the future acute hospital at Overdale, if a proposal by a Jersey deputy is backed by States members.

A proposition has been put forward by Deputy Lucy Stephenson for a memorial to be provided as part of planning commitments for the new hospital.

She said she wanted to see it funded by the Percentage for Art Scheme – which requires developers to incorporate public art into their projects.

Stephenson said "many people have had their lives touched, and in some cases transformed, by organ donation… and they should be thanked and recognised'.

'Selfless donated'

In a call to States members, Stephenson said: "There are those whose lives wouldn't have been saved were it not for the decisions of others, and their families, to donate.

"There are loved ones, such as myself and my own family, who have supported a relative's wish to become an organ donor.

"And there are also living donors, who have selflessly donated kidneys or stem cells to loved ones and even strangers who may not be here without the transplants they made possible."

In 2018, Jersey brought in an opt-out system for organ donation, meaning all adults were considered to have agreed to be donors unless they specifically said otherwise.

There are currently seven patients in Jersey awaiting a transplant.

Since 2017, there have been eight donors whose organs have been used in:

• 14 kidney transplants

• Four liver transplants

• One pair of lungs

• Four hearts for valves

Dr Neil MacLachlan, here with his daughter Catherine, said there was "no greater gift" than organ donation

Stephenson added that, according to the NHS Blood and Transplant Service, of which Jersey was a part, organ donation memorials were a way to promote the value of organ donation.

She also cited a report by a UK Government Organ Donation Taskforce, that recommended in 2008 "publicly recognising donors" to achieve the same goal.

The idea is supported by Jersey doctor Neil MacLachlan, whose daughter Catherine was saved by a heart transplant in 2006.

He said: "There can be no greater gift than that of giving one's organs so that someone else can live.

"This amazing act of generosity should be recognised and a memorial would also serve to remind us all that three people every day die whilst waiting for an organ to become available."

There are a number of such memorials in the UK, including at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire, and at hospitals across England, Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].