Landmarks lit up for organ donation week

Iconic landmarks in Cornwall are being illuminated to raise awareness about organ donation

Iconic landmarks in Cornwall are being illuminated to raise awareness about organ donation.

Some 469 people in the South West are currently in need of a life-saving transplant.

NHS Blood and Transplant is urging families to talk about organ donation and register their decisions.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) has organised for landmarks in the county to be illuminated to raise awareness of Organ Donation Week 2022.

Buildings including St Mawes Castle and St Ives Chapel in Cornwall, and the Coming Home Trees at Cookworthy Dip on the Cornwall/Devon border will turn pink to inspire people to tell their families they want to be a donor and to register their decision.

NHS Blood and Transplant said families were far more likely to support donation when they already know it was what their relative wanted.

Rebecca Tolmon, organ donation specialist nurse at the RCHT, said: "It can be hard to start these conversations but I'd like to reassure people that families will always be involved if organ donation is a possibility and by having these difficult conversations it means your loved ones will be certain what your decision is.

"Whatever you decide about organ donation, leave your family certain."