Brooks meets local singer and kidney donor as she launches organ donor awareness campaign
Today, Brooks Newmark MP met with a local constituent, Sarah Springett, as she launched an organ donor awareness campaign with the backing of The Transplant Trust and NHS Blood and Transplant.
This month, Sarah, who is a live kidney donor, started a personal campaign to raise awareness about organ donation, with the aim of getting many more thousands of people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register. This will support the first UK-wide organ donation campaign which was launched by NHS Blood and Transplant in early November.
The 28 year-old singer-songwriter from Colchester thought of her own ‘I Hope You Know’ campaign, after donating one of her own kidneys to her boyfriend, Paul Shepherd, in November 2008. Paul needed the life-saving transplant after being diagnosed in 2004 with igA Nephropathy – a condition where the kidneys become damaged by a protein normally used to fight infection.
After being diagnosed, Paul was able to lead a relatively normal life for the next four years. However, in early 2008 his condition deteriorated rapidly and he had to be put on dialysis. On November 6th 2008, after a relatively short period of eight months on dialysis, Sarah and Paul packed their bags and headed to The Royal London Hospital. Paul’s Christmas present that year would be a life saver – one of Sarah’s kidneys. The operation was a complete success.
After Sarah had recovered from the operation she focused on resuming her career as a singer – and she is now a woman on a mission. Sarah’s band, The Floe, will follow the campaign launch with the release of their debut single, also called ‘I Hope You Know’, on 9th November 2009 – almost a year to the day since Sarah and Paul’s operations. Each single (both physical and digital) comes with a link to the organ registration form, while all profits from the single will be donated to The Transplant Trust.
In July 2009 Sarah attended the launch of The Transplant Trust’s National Transplant Week, where she was asked to address the audience. Sarah made a huge impression on those present as she recounted her and Paul’s experience and revealed her plans for the ‘I Hope I Know’ campaign.
Speaking of the campaign, Sarah said, “It is with such a sense of relief and excitement that I am able to throw myself back into my music knowing that Paul is safe, healthy and back up and running. I already feel like I have gained so much by donating my kidney to him. Releasing this single to support The Transplant Trust’s work and encouraging people to sign the NHS Organ Donor Register feels like the right thing to do.”
You can join Sarah’s campaign by logging on to the ‘I Hope You Know’ website (www.ihopeyouknow.co.uk). In addition to being able to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register, visitors will be able to purchase the ‘I Hope You Know’ single, with all profits going to The Transplant Trust.
To register as an organ donor with the NHS go to: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or ring 0300 123 23 23.
Brooks says, “I am delighted to lend my support to Sarah’s campaign. I know many people want to join the organ donor register, they just often don’t get around to doing it. But, in our web-based society there really is no excuse – registering to be an organ donor is now so quick and easy, and the few seconds it takes can give the gift of a lifetime to so many others.”
