Cwm Taf Morgannwg Staff to Turn the Peaks Pink for Organ Donation Week
This year’s Organ Donation Week, which is being celebrated from 23rd - 29th September, marks the 30th anniversary of the NHS Organ Donor Register.
On Friday 27 September, a 100-strong team of volunteers will carry a pink banner to the summit of Pen Y Fan, to promote the importance of organ donation and encourage people to register as an organ donor. They will be joining teams of volunteers across the UK, who will be climbing mountains and peaks in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, to “Turn the Peaks Pink” for Organ Donation Week.
The local team will include Victoria Hughes and Corinna McNeil, Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, and Rhys Llewellyn, a transplant recipient living in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area who has undergone two heart transplants and who has been supported by the cardiac rehab team at Prince Charles Hospital during his recovery.
Victoria Hughes (Specialist Nurse Organ Donation, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said: “Rhondda Cynon Taf has the lowest registration rates on the Organ Donation Register in the whole of Wales, with only 27% of people registered to Opt-in and 4% registered to Opt-out. During this year’s Organ Donation Week, we hope to increase awareness of the lifesaving gift that is organ donation and encourage as many people as possible across CTMUHB’s area to register their donation decision online.”
Corinna McNeil, (Specialist Nurse Organ Donation, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board) said: “If I can encourage you to do anything this Organ Donation Week, it would be to register your decision on the Organ Donor Register and share this decision with your loved ones.”
Rhys Llewellyn said: “My life has been saved twice by organ donation, thanks to two heart transplants, in 2011 aged 25 and 2021 aged 35. Without two selfless donors and their families' decisions to donate their organs, I simply would not be here. Organ donation saves lives. I’m supporting Organ Donation Week by climbing Pen Y Fan to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. I want to encourage people in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area to think about registering as an organ donor, and to talk to your family about your wishes.”
You can read more about organ donation HERE
You can read more about Rhys’ story HERE
25/09/2024