A Pembrokeshire mum, who underwent a successful liver transplant, has spoken on how organ donation really is the ‘greatest gift someone can give’ - as a new campaign is launched to reverse a worrying increase in the number of families in Wales withholding their support for organ donation after the loss of a loved one.

Family support is declining across the UK but the fall in Wales has been the most dramatic.

From a situation where the family consent rate for organ donation was 10% higher in Wales than the UK average just five years ago, it is now 5% lower, meaning vital opportunities for transplants are missed each year because families aren't sure whether or not to donate their loved ones’ organs.

In 2015, Wales was proud to be the first UK nation to bring in a system called ‘presumed consent’.

This means, unless they have ‘opted out’ on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR), people in Wales will be considered to agree to becoming a donor when they die.

However, many specialist nurses working with families of potential donors believe that since the introduction of presumed consent, fewer people are having conversations because they assume they are automatically going to be a donor if the situation arises.

Families are always consulted in the donation process, so it’s vital they know what their loved one wants to do when they die.

The creation of the NHS Organ Donor Register in 1994 has been a positive move, with more than 100,000 people in the UK having their lives saved by an organ transplant, including over 10,000 in Wales.

Now in its 30th year, the register has seen over 1.3 million people in Wales declare their willingness to donate their organs after they die.

However, family members remain a key part of the final decision-making process and research indicates that, while many are aware of the opt-out system in Wales, they often do not fully understand what it means in practice.

Mum of two, thirty-five year-old Jessica from Pembrokeshire, had her life turned upside down in 2016 when she was diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cholangitis, a serious liver condition.

After giving birth to her second daughter, she noticed her fingers turning white, leading to a blood test that revealed liver disease.

As her symptoms worsened, Jessica’s doctors suggested a liver transplant. In 2020, after her eyes turned yellow, she was placed on the transplant list. After two false calls, Jessica finally received the call she’d been waiting for in September 2022.

The transplant was a success and Jessica’s recovery has been remarkable.

“I’d always been healthy, so hearing I had liver disease was overwhelming,” said Jessica.

“I was nervous about the transplant, but I was ready and now I’m back to enjoying life again – walking my children to school and spending time with my family. Organ donation really is the greatest gift someone can give.”

To find out more about organ donation and how to sign the register, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/