A Welsh family lost Menna Owen at 18 after a cardiac arrest; her heart and lungs were…

People
i
Wales
asked
to
be ‘O e
i
a
Millio ’ as family
suppo t
fo
o ga
do atio  

A
Welsh
family
lost
18-yea -old
Me a
Owe
afte
a
seizu e
caused
he
hea t
to
stop.
He
decisio
to
become
a
o ga
do o
mea t
that
he
hea t
a d
lu gs
we e
give
to
two
you g
patie ts,
who
we e
both
doi g
ve y
well
a
yea
afte
thei
su ge ies.Me a’s
sto y
comes
as
health
autho ities
begi
a
majo
campaig
to
add ess
a
sha p
fall
i
family
suppo t
fo
o ga
do atio
ac oss
the
U ited
Ki gdom.Figu es
f om
the

O ga
a d
Tissue
Do atio
a d
T a spla tatio
Activity
Repo t
by
NHS
Blood
a d
T a spla t
show
that
UK
family
co se t
ates
fell
f om
69
pe ce t
i
2020/21
to
57
pe ce t
i
2025/26.
The
ea ly
20
pe ce t
decli e
comes
as
the
UK
t a spla t
waiti g
list
has
eached
a
eco d
8,296
patie ts,
i cludi g
241
child e .I
espo se,
NHS
Blood
a d
T a spla t
lau ched
the
“O e
i
a
Millio ”
campaig .
It
is
aski g
a othe
o e
millio
adults
to
eco d
thei
do atio
decisio
o
the
NHS
O ga
Do o
Registe
(ODR).
The
aim
is
to
i c ease
egist atio s
f om
29
millio
to
30
millio
by
the
begi i g
of
2027.

Family
co ve satio s
emove
u ce tai ty

Whe
Me a
suffe ed
a
ca diac
a est
afte
a
epileptic
seizu e
at
he
home
i
To teg,
Po typ idd,
he
mothe ,
Beth
Owe ,
al eady
k ew
what
he
daughte
wa ted.

Me a
was
take
by
ai
ambula ce
to
the
hospital
whe e
Beth
wo ks
as
a
Se io
Nu se
i
Neu oscie ce.
Afte
docto s
co fi med
that
Me a
had
suffe ed
a
seve e
b ai
i ju y,
Beth
spoke
to
medical
staff
about

o ga
do atio .Beth
emembe ed
a
co ve satio
the
family
had
p eviously
had
at
home
about
o ga
do atio .
She
said
Me a
had
immediately
said
she
wa ted
to
do ate
eve ythi g
she
could.Me a
was
desc ibed
by
he
mothe
as
ki d,
quiet,
a d
happy.
She
loved
he
dog
Ollie,
e joyed
eadi g
c ime
a d
psychology
books,
a d
liked
t yi g
ew
activities.
She
took
pa t
i
i doo
skydivi g
a d
we t
o
the
No th
Wales
zip
wi e.
She
also
wa ted
to
t y
ha g
glidi g.Me a
did
ot
allow
epilepsy
to
stop
he
f om
doi g
the
thi gs
she
e joyed.
She
had
bee
looki g
fo wa d
to
sta ti g
u ive sity
to
study
c imi al
psychology.Because
Me a
had
clea ly
exp essed
he
wishes,
he
family
did
ot
have
to
make
the
difficult
decisio
themselves.Beth
said
the
family
had
always
told
Me a
a d
he
b othe
Da
that
doi g
thei
best
was
e ough.
Afte
Me a’s
death,
the
family’s
fi al
act
was
to
espect
the
decisio
she
had
al eady
made
about
do atio .Beth
said
she
was
u su e
whethe
the
family
could
have
made
the
same
decisio
without
k owi g
Me a’s
wishes.
K owi g
what
she
wa ted
made
the
p ocess
much
easie .She
also
said
o ga
do atio
had
b ought
some
comfo t
to
the
family
du i g
thei
g ief.
K owi g
that
Me a
had
helped
othe
people
a d
that
he
wishes
had
bee
espected
made
them
feel
that
she
would
be
p oud.A
yea
late ,
Beth
had
hea d
that
both
ecipie ts
we e
doi g
ext emely
well.
She
desc ibed
this
as
pa t
of
Me a’s
lasti g
legacy.

The
gap
betwee
do o s
a d
patie ts
is
g owi g

Official
figu es
show
that
family
suppo t
fo
do atio
is
a ou d
90
pe ce t
whe
a
pe so ‘s
decisio
is
eco ded
o
the
ODR.
Howeve ,
co se t
falls
below
50
pe ce t
whe
families
do
ot
k ow
what
thei
loved
o e
wa ted.I
Wales,
1.4
millio
people
have
egiste ed
thei
do atio
decisio .
The
umbe
of
deceased
o ga
do o s
i c eased
f om
115
to
126
ove
the
past
yea ,
but
the
umbe
of
t a spla ts
eceived
by
Welsh
eside ts
fell
slightly
f om
235
to
224.The e
a e
cu e tly
348
patie ts
i
Wales
o
the
active
t a spla t
waiti g
list.Ac oss
the
UK,
figu es
fo
2025/26
show
simila
p essu e:

Despite
these
i c eases,
434
people
ac oss
the
UK
died
while
waiti g
fo
a
t a spla t
last
yea ,
i cludi g
16
people
i
Wales.
A othe
899
people
we e
emoved
f om
waiti g
lists
because
thei
health
became
too
poo
fo
t a spla tatio .

Ove idi g
do o
decisio s
ca
cost
lives

NHS
Blood
a d
T a spla t
officials
wa ed
that
families
ca
sometimes
go
agai st
a
eco ded
do atio
decisio
whe
they
a e
faced
with
e d-of-life
decisio s
without
e ough
p epa atio .A tho y
Cla kso ,
Di ecto
of
O ga
a d
Tissue
Do atio
a d
T a spla tatio
at
NHS
Blood
a d
T a spla t,
said
family
suppo t
fo
do atio
has
bee
falli g
steadily
i
ece t
yea s
a d
eeds
to
imp ove.He
said
the
“O e
i
a
Millio ”
campaig
is
aski g
people
i
Wales
to
egiste
thei
do atio
decisio s
a d
help
i c ease
the
umbe
of
people
o
the
NHS
O ga
Do o
Registe
to
30
millio
by
the
begi i g
of
2027.Havi g
a
eco ded
decisio
gives
families
ce tai ty
about
what
thei
loved
o e
wa ted
a d
makes
it
mo e
likely
that
the
decisio
will
be
espected.Cla kso
also
wa ed
that
some
families
still
eject
o ga
do atio
eve
whe
thei
loved
o e
had
clea ly
wa ted
to
do ate.
This
esults
i
hu d eds
of
possible
t a spla t
oppo tu ities
bei g
lost
eve y
yea .He
u ged
people
who
have
ot
yet
eco ded
thei
wishes
to
joi
the
O ga
Do o
Registe
a d
e cou aged
families
to
emembe
a d
espect
those
decisio s.

Natio al
epo t
calls
fo
majo
cha ges

The
lo g-te m
p essu e
o
t a spla t
waiti g
lists
has
also
led
to
calls
fo
wide
cha ges
ac oss
the
healthca e
system.The
O ga
Do atio
Joi t
Wo ki g
G oup
(ODJWG)
published
a
epo t
calli g
fo
a
“bolde ,
b ave
app oach
to
o ga
do atio .”
The
epo t
followed
figu es
showi g
that
ea ly
5,000
people
i
the
UK
had
died
while
waiti g
fo
a
t a spla t
ove
the
p evious
decade.The
ODJWG
ide tified
th ee
mai
goals:

Me a’s
sto y
shows
why
k owi g
a
pe so ‘s
wishes
ca
matte
so
much.
He
family
did
ot
have
to
make
a
impossible
decisio
du i g
a
time
of
g ief
because
Me a
had
al eady
made
it
he self.
He
hea t
a d
lu gs
we t
o
to
help
two
you g
people,
givi g
he
family
a
lasti g
sou ce
of
comfo t
a d
a
powe ful
legacy.

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