The NHS is launching a new campaign to urge families in West Midlands to talk about organ donation following research that less than half of adults in England have had the conversation.

The 'Leave Them Certain' campaign aims to highlight the impact not knowing has on the families who are left behind and encourage people talk about their decision. It follows the law change last year in England, which means that all adults are seen as willing to donate their organs, unless they opt out or are in one of the excluded groups.

In West Midlands, 715,800 people are currently on the NHS Organ Donor Register, with 40 people becoming donors in the last year, but the NHS needs more people to talk with their families about their decision. Many still don’t realise that families will still be approached before any donation goes ahead.

As part of the campaign, a new TV advert launched this week featuring the Kakkad family. Shivum’s father Bharat died from a cardiac arrest when he was 63 in May 2019, but the family had never spoken about organ donation. The advert features family footage and memories of Bharat but ends with another memory - when they asked Shivum if his father wanted to be an organ donor and he just didn’t know.

Significantly, Shivum and his family did agree to organ donation, but it was a decision that could have been made easier if they’d had the conversation. Shivum said:

“My father was a very giving person. He did charity work and was a strong believer in the Hindu act of Sewa, of service to God. When the specialist nurse approached us about organ donation, we made our decision.

"We knew that helping others in need was what my father would have wanted. But I wish we had spoken about it to know for certain and I would urge others to take the opportunity while they still can.”

Shivum hopes that by sharing their family’s story, they will encourage more families, particularly from Asian and other ethnic backgrounds, to support and talk about organ donation. The numbers of donors are increasing, but more need to come forward as often the best transplant match will come from a donor of the same ethnicity. Bharat went on to help the lives of two other people. He donated a kidney to a woman in her 50s and a kidney to a man in his 60s.

You can find out more by visiting organdonation.nhs.uk or by calling 0300 123 23 23.