Issue 7 November 2024 Blood and Organ Donation

Saves lives

Would you accept a new organ if it could save your life? Organ donation is based on volunteerism and altruism – the same applies to donating blood. 
2024 marks 20 years since the WHO introduced World Blood Donor Day. Many vital medicines and treatments that we take for granted are found thanks to people who voluntarily set aside time to literally donate a part of themselves.

There is no substitute for blood. Blood is a living material, and even with modern and advanced technology, blood cannot be produced artificially – it must be given. That’s why we are completely dependent on blood donors for the health service to function. Blood donors are vital for health services in Norway. And we need many more new blood donors every year, to replace those who can no longer donate blood due to age, illness, use of medication or similar. 

One donor – seven lives
For many people, organ donation is the only way out of a deadly disease. In Norway, there are between 400 and 500 people on the waiting list for a new, life-saving organ at any given time. One deceased donor can save up to seven lives.
You are three times more likely to need a new life-saving organ than to donate organs yourself. If organ transplantation is to continue to be a treatment option, it is essential that as many people as possible take an active stand on whether to become a donor.
Every year, many people experience the loss of a family member, and if organ donation is to be an option, the doctor will ask the next of kin what the deceased wanted. If this is not known, it is up to the next of kin to make the decision about organ donation. So it’s important that everyone informs their loved ones of their wishes while they are still alive, so that the family doesn’t have to make the decision for them.