The Easter holidays have been and gone, punctuated by too much chocolate, lie-ins and the guilt of not working. All of this however, gave me a chance to sit and enjoy some quality movies. One evening, as I settled down to choose a film (it always takes me far too long) with my last remaining Easter egg, I stumbled across a good-old Will Smith movie. Now, you wouldn\u2019t be mistaken for wondering where I\u2019m going with this story, but bear with me…<\/p>\n
Seven pounds is a 2008 Drama\/Romance film featuring Will Smith, Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson among others. Without completely ruining the plot, the movie starts with the main character, Ben Thomas (Will Smith) phoning 911 to report his own suicide. Gripping stuff. The rest of the film is spent figuring out why he is committing suicide. It turns out, Ben did something he deeply regrets and so decides to do everything in his power to make up for it. To achieve this, he decides to change seven people\u2019s lives for the better (hence the seven in the title). The catch is, Ben has to make sure they deserve it beforehand. Ben sets out to improve the lives of people from hugely different walks of life. The main way he achieves this is through organ donation. The end of the film is the most poignant, as the viewer witnesses the happiness Ben\u2019s actions have on the people he has chosen – he massively changes their lives.<\/p>\n
It got me thinking, although slightly morbid in parts, the film did a fantastic job of raising awareness to the power of organ donation and the huge benefits it can have on people\u2019s lives. In light of this, I did a bit of research about organ donation and decided to dedicate this blog post to it.<\/p>\n
Organ donation<\/span><\/p>\n According to the NHS Organ Donation website (https:\/\/www.organdonation.nhs.uk), organ donation is the donation of organs to individuals who require a transplant. However, a key aspect of the process is obtaining consent from both the donor and their family. This is required as much organ donation can only occur after death.<\/p>\n The need for organs<\/span><\/p>\n According to the NHS Organ Donation website: \u201cThree people a day die in need of a transplant due to a shortage of people being willing to donate organs\u201d<\/p>\n Donating organs is one way someone can make a lasting positive impact on another person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n Ways to donate<\/span><\/p>\n Organ donation is done in three main ways; brain stem death, circulatory death and living donation. Organ donation following brain stem death is when a donor has lost\u00a0consciousness or their ability to breathe. Circulatory death is when a donor loses the function of their heart or lungs, often after a cardiac arrest from which they could not be resuscitated. Finally, a living donation is when a living donor donates a whole or part of an organ\/tissue.<\/p>\n The importance of consent<\/span><\/p>\n Organ donation can be an emotional topic. In many cases, it is the family of the deceased that have to make the final decision to donate, often at a very emotional time. In light of this, the NHS encourages people that want to become donors to either register as a donor on the NHS Organ Donor Register or tell a close family member of friend that they wish to donate their organs. It must be stressed, the NHS will not use a donor\u2019s organs without the full consent of the donor (if alive) or their family.<\/p>\n What can be donated?<\/span><\/p>\n A huge range of organs can be donated, potentially changing countless lives for the better:<\/p>\n In some cases, if individuals can\u2019t or don\u2019t want to donate organs they can donate tissues and bone:<\/p>\n Making a decision<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the desperate need for organs in the UK, deciding to donate your organs isn\u2019t a decision to take lightly. If you\u2019re considering becoming a donor, do your research and take into account any personal wishes\/religious beliefs you may hold. Even if you don\u2019t go through with it, it\u2019s not for everyone, at least have the conversation with family and friends. Raising awareness about the importance of organ donation is key to getting more people to help.<\/strong> Who knows, you could help save someone\u2019s life even if you\u2019re not around.<\/p>\n So all in all, from watching a film as procrastination during the Easter holidays, I learnt a lot about organ donation. This counts as revision right?<\/p>\n IMPORTANT NOTE:<\/span><\/p>\n All of the information about organ donation in this blog post was obtained directly from the NHS Organ Donation website. This blog post should NOT be used to make any decision, it was simply written to raise awareness. If you wish to obtain further information about organ donation visit https:\/\/www.organdonation.nhs.uk\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Easter holidays have been and gone, punctuated by too much chocolate, lie-ins and the guilt of not working. All of this however, gave me a chance to sit and enjoy some quality movies. One evening, as I settled down to choose a film (it always takes me far too long) with my last remaining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[211,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-health","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cAround 6,500 people across the UK are waiting for an organ transplant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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