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This year the NHS Organ Donor Register celebrates its 30th birthday. To raise awareness of the incredible gift of organ and tissue donation, the City Chambers is turning pink.

The annual campaign raises awareness for the ongoing need for organ donation, whilst also encouraging people to make a decision about whether they wish to opt in or out of donation and making sure these wishes are discussed with family members.

Our Сòòò½APPnternational Conference Centre (EICC), another landmark building on the city skyline, is also lighting up pink in support of the campaign.   

Depute Lord Provost, Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron said:

Almost 60,000 lives have been saved since the NHS Organ Donor Register was created in 1994. Organ and Tissue Donation Week is the perfect opportunity to highlight this incredible fact.

As we mark the 30th anniversary of the NHS Organ Donor Register, we must also be mindful of the fact that more than 7,600 people in the UK are currently waiting for a life-saving transplant. There are thousands of people who could be given a new lease of life by a donor. To help as many people as possible we all need to play our part by considering and registering our decisions to be, or not to be, a donor.

These are conversations that need to be had amongst families, friends, colleagues, and communities as we go forward.  Families are more likely to support donation when they are already aware of their loved one’s wish to be an organ donor.

Whilst it’s heartening that over half of people in Scotland have now registered their organ and tissue donation decision, a great many people still haven’t done so.  Whatever your choice may be, the important thing is to make it, discuss it with loved ones, and record it.

I hope the aim of this week’s campaign of raising awareness of the lifesaving opportunities of organ donation encourages anyone who is 16 years old or over who have yet to record their decision to do so by visiting the today.