30 years of the NHS Organ Donor Register

Since the NHS Organ Donor Register was launched in 1994, more than 100,000 lives have been saved.

This amazing milestone is all thanks to organ donors – many of whom had recorded their organ donation decision on the register, which was then supported by their loved ones.

That's 30 years of heart transplants, kidney transplants, lung transplants and more.

Lisa Chapman's son Josh became an organ donor in 2019. She agreed to organ donation on his behalf.

"Josh was 24 when he was involved in a car accident," says Lisa.

"He fell from a moving vehicle and sustained a brain stem injury from which he couldn't recover. Our world fell apart."

"The donor team came to us after we’d been given the diagnosis. They asked, 'did we know that Josh was a registered donor', and we said 'no' – it’s not something that we, as a family, had had conversations about.

"Knowing Josh, being the joker, you would never have thought he’d have put himself on the register, but he did it twice. He was a cheeky chap but had a heart of gold and was so kind and caring, always worrying about others.

"The records showed that Josh had signed up twice, including when he changed his address on his driver’s licence.

"We just thought 'who are we to go against it?' This was the last thing that Josh could do that he said he wanted to do. It gives you a glimmer of something positive.

(Picture: Josh with his daughter, Harper-Mae, who was six months old when Josh died)

"We received a letter to say that six people received vital organs and tissues from Josh. It’s just incredible.

"Josh’s daughter Harper-Mae was only six months old when Josh died. She is now 5 years old and the image of her dad in so many ways. For her to have that lasting legacy of her dad, the fact he has helped six other families remain together, is just massive.

"He would be 30 this year (2024) on 17 September so it’s really poignant that it’s also 30 years since the creation of the Organ Donor Register."

The story of the register

The launch of the register traces back to October 1994 and followed a five-year campaign by the Cox family from Wolverhampton.

When Peter Cox was tragically killed by a brain tumour in 1989, his family made the decision to donate his organs.

However, Peter’s family were shocked to learn that there was no central register for organ donors. There was a register of people waiting for an organ, but not one for people willing to be donors.

If it weren’t for the fact that Peter carried a donor card, or for the conversation they’d had as a family, the family may not have known that he wanted to donate.

For the next five years, Peter’s dad, John, mum, Rosemary, and sister, Christine, campaigned for a register to be created, and, in October 1994, the NHS Organ Donor Register was born.

Now, more than 60,000 people are still alive today thanks to the transplants they’ve received.

(Picture: Christine, Peter's sister, who campaigned with her family for the creation of a donor registry)

"The figures blow my mind," says Christine, who was awarded an MBE in 2021 for outstanding services to organ donation and the community.

"The real heroes are the people who sign the register and the families who allow their loved ones' organs to be donated."

Confirm your organ donation decision

Confirm your decision on the Organ Donation website or use the NHS App.