Organ Donor Week is a reminder of the noblest of sacrifices

There are few nobler sacrifices than someone electing to give up their vital organs in the event of their death to help others.

Take the circumstances of James Alexander Borland, from Glasgow, who died in hospital last year at the age of just 25.

His organs, with the blessing of his mother, were donated and have saved the lives of four other people.

One man received the lungs of Mr Borland in a double lung transplant, while two others received a kidney each.

Kevin Brogan, from Edinburgh, receiving Mr Borland’s heart. Mr Brogan has said he is “forever grateful”.

In today’s Scotsman, we also tell the story of Zac McNab, who at just five weeks old became one of the youngest babies to ever receive a liver transplant.

Now three, Zac is an active child who enjoys playing football and bouncing on the trampoline in his garden.

He is alive today thanks to the donation of a two-year-old girl whose liver Zac received, and of whose family the McNabs remain in contact with.

Mother Arlene McNab says of her son: “I know how lucky he is, because there’s so many kids and adults, I guess, that don’t survive waiting.”

Since an opt-out system was introduced in Scotland in March 2021, more than half (54 per cent) of people had registered their donation decision, with the vast majority choosing to register as a donor.

As at June 30, 625 patients in Scotland remain on the transplant waiting list. Across the UK more widely, the number had risen to 8,040 patients as at September 5 – a rise from 7,752 at the same point last year.

As Anthony McGeown, a specialist nurse in organ donation at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, explains, one in every 100 people die in Scotland where organ and tissue donation are a possibility.

As Organ Donor week begins, there is no better time to reflect on the fragility of life – and how the gift of donation can make an incredible difference.