The parents of a three-year-old with liver cancer are urging families to proactively “opt in” to registering their child for organ donation.
Katie and Graham Tatham, from London, are hoping for a donor for their son Ralph, who needs a multi-organ transplant.
NHS figures show that, in 2021/22, 52% of families gave consent for their child’s organs to be donated, resulting in 40 organ donors under the age of 18.
This compares with the 243 children who are currently waiting for a transplant.
A new campaign has been launched called Consider This, led by NHS Blood and Transplant and marketing agency Wunderman Thompson (WT).
Having your child be on the list for an organ transplant and then waiting each day in hope for a call is torture— Katie and Graham Tatham
It hopes to raise awareness of opting in to organ donation and involves adverts featuring Ralph’s parents.
In a statement, Mr and Mrs Tatham said: “To hear your child has cancer and watch them go through cancer treatment is the worst thing you could ever imagine.
“Having your child be on the list for an organ transplant and then waiting each day in hope for a call is torture.
“In our case, because Ralph has cancer, we don’t have that much time, so each day that the call doesn’t happen, we lose a little bit of hope that it will come in time.
“It’s also very hard that the only thing that can save your child is another child’s organs – that is a really difficult thing to process.”
With more people confirming their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register, we hope to be able to save more lives of children like Ralph, both today and in the future— Angie Scales, NHS Blood and Transplant
Angie Scales, NHS Blood and Transplant lead nurse for paediatric donation, said: “For many children on the transplant waiting list, their only hope is the parent of another child saying ‘yes’ to organ donation at a time of immense sadness and personal grief, yet families tell us that agreeing to organ donation can also be a source of great comfort and pride.
“We ask that families take a moment today to consider and confirm their support for organ donation, so it is not something you have to consider and discuss for the first time should the unthinkable happen.
“We also know that many children respond positively to the idea of organ donation, so this is something which can be discussed in a simple way by the whole family.
“With more people confirming their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register, we hope to be able to save more lives of children like Ralph, both today and in the future.”
– People can find out more at https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/
