When you die please do not take your organs to heaven - heaven knows we need them down here !

 One week today my book I LOVE OUR NHS – David’s Story will be published. 120,008 words so far. A bit of checking to do and yesterday I came up with another idea for a chapter.

Anyway here is today’s draft for you  to have a look at.

Heart – Kidney – Liver – Cornea – Lung – Pancreas – Intestines - LOVE

 

1967 saw the first successful human heart transplant anywhere in the world. That patient, Louis Washkansky, age fifty-three, was terminally ill with heart failure. His surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa was Christiaan Barnard. The donor, Denise Darvall, was just twenty-five years old. Aged sixteen myself I remember that operation being featured in the media so well.

The world's longest-surviving heart transplant patient died thirty-three years after his life-saving operation. John McCafferty was told he had only five years to live when he received the transplant at Harefield Hospital in West London, on 20^th  October 1982. Harefield Hospital – that is part of  our NHS.

There have been 8,400 heart transplants, including multi-organ transplants, in the UK since 1968. ALL undertaken within our NHS.

Around 200 heart and heart-lung transplants are carried out in the UK each year.

Following the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948, the UK's first successful kidney transplant was carried out in 1960. The transplant was carried out in Edinburgh by Sir Michael Woodruff, as an identical twin acted as a living donor for his brother.

There were 3,190 adult kidney transplants performed in 2019/2020 in the UK.

QUESTION: How many people are waiting for kidney transplants in the UK? ANSWER: In the UK, around 5,000 people are in need of a kidney transplant.

The first successful liver transplant took place on May 5^th 1963. No patient had survived the operation previously.

In the period 2020/21, 606 liver transplants were carried out in England, followed by 71 conducted in Scotland.

Currently, 4000 corneal grafts are carried out per year in the UK according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and the eye banks are 21% below the level needed to supply hospitals.

QUESTION: What is the most common organ transplant in the UK ?

ANSWER: Kidney, Heart, Liver, Lung.

Let me step aside from medical science for a moment and talk about writing, my writing. I am a prolific writer, last year in 2021 I wrote in excess of two and a quarter million words. I write stories, I write discussion and debate features, I write about heritage and legend, I write about love. Here I am writing about the greatest love story ever told, that of our NHS.

I also write poetry !  yes I do. I am not William Wordsworth, I am not Pam Ayres but I do write poetry. My poetry is a bit unique and different, here is something I wrote in February 2021.

EVOLUTION GOT IT WRONG 

The face of that man is black.

The face of that woman is white.

Black, white and every shade in between,

that’s the way we have all been made.

Black and white which are not within the rainbow of light.

What colour is that of a black man’s spirit ?

What colour is that of a white woman’s heart ?

Both are much deeper than the outside view,

Both are more beautiful than any eye can see,

Nor any mind understand,

Evolution when you made men and women.

Black, white and every shade in between.

You got it wrong !

I could head off now into a lengthy debate about Black Lives Matter, racial equality and all that but there are more important things to consider.

When I donate a pint of blood that may be used in an operation where the patient is black, white or green with yellow spots. Who cares ?  I don’t and my pint of blood does not care. Evolution got it right there !

But with organ transplantation Evolution messed up big time.

Do you know the song MELTING POT by Blue Mink ?

Take a pinch of white man

Wrap him up in black skin

Add a touch of blue blood

And a little bitty bit of red Indian boy

Oh like a Curly Latin kinkies

Oh Lordy, Lordy, mixed with yellow Chinkees, yeah

You know you lump it all together

And you got a recipe for a get along scene

Oh what a beautiful dream

If it could only come true, you know, you know

 

What we need is a great big melting pot

Big enough enough enough to take

The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more

And turn out coffee coloured people by the score

Rabbis and the friars

Vishnus and the gurus

We got the Beatles or the Sun God

Well it really doesn't matter what religion you choose

And be thankful little Mrs. Graceful

You know that livin' could be tasteful

We should all get together in a lovin machine

I think I'll call up the queen

It' s only fair that she knows, you know, you know

What we need is a great big melting pot

Big enough enough enough to take

The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more

And turn out coffee coloured people by the score

 

I am wondering if that sound should perhaps be rewritten with the word PROPERLY instead of COFFEE

 

Take a pinch of white man

Wrap him up in black skin

Add a touch of blue blood

And a little bitty bit of red Indian boy

Oh like a Curly Latin kinkies

Oh Lordy, Lordy, mixed with yellow Chinkees, yeah

You know you lump it all together

And you got a recipe for a get along scene

Oh what a beautiful dream

If it could only come true, you know, you know

What we need is a great big melting pot

Big enough enough enough to take

The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more

And turn out properly coloured people by the score

Rabbis and the friars

Vishnus and the gurus

We got the Beatles or the Sun God

Well it really doesn't matter what religion you choose

And be thankful little Mrs. Graceful

You know that livin' could be tasteful

We should all get together in a lovin machine

I think I'll call up the queen

It' s only fair that she knows, you know, you know

What we need is a great big melting pot

Big enough enough enough to take

The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more

And turn out properly coloured people by the score

I have actually got a tear pricking the pack of my eye as I type these words.

It was not until I was ten years old that I saw my first non-white person. Returning home from school to tell my Mum that we had a new boy in our class and he was black, she said she hoped we were not teasing him because of his colour. NO WAY ! We all wanted to be his friend as he was different, different and special.

Black Lives Matter ? No ALL Lives Matter. I so  much wish that Evolution had not messed up in the way it did.

Yes, when it comes to blood donation Evolution got it right but when it comes to organ donation it messed up BIG TIME.

As a boring old, emphasis on OLD, man if I were to need an organ transplant I would go on the list and stand a good chance of receiving a heart, lung, kidney, liver or whatever. BUT if I were a beautiful little black child the chances of my receiving a transplant could be as low as 2%.

Again the pandemic hit with its evil !  Before the virus struck the world I met with our local Imam to talk about organ donation within the Islamic community.  What a wonderful man he was. He spoke from a personal family experience about organ donation. He took the Koran and explained with great understanding how his community needed to be made more aware of the situation.

In February 2020, at the start of the pandemic, there were 1,909 non white patients waiting for an organ transplant. Now more than two years later I am wondering how many received the life-saving surgery and how many are now dead ?

I can not stress how important it is that right across society; black, white and yellow with purple spots we understand the importance of organ donation.

When you die do not take your organs to heaven – heaven knows we need them down here.

Take a pinch of white man

Wrap him up in black skin

Add a touch of blue blood

And a little bitty bit of red Indian boy

Oh like a Curly Latin kinkies

Oh Lordy, Lordy, mixed with yellow Chinkees, yeah

You know you lump it all together

And you got a recipe for a get along scene

Oh what a beautiful dream

If it could only come true, you know, you know

What we need is a great big melting pot

Big enough enough enough to take

The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more

And turn out properly coloured people by the score

Rabbis and the friars

Vishnus and the gurus

We got the Beatles or the Sun God

Well it really doesn't matter what religion you choose

And be thankful little Mrs. Graceful

You know that livin' could be tasteful

We should all get together in a lovin machine

I think I'll call up the queen

It' s only fair that she knows, you know, you know

What we need is a great big melting pot

Big enough enough enough to take

The world and all its got And keep it stirring for a hundred years or more

And turn out properly coloured people by the score

 

So how are you getting on  finding T YPO’s ?

There’s one for tyou (t wo – I mean three actually)

NOW STAND UP AND SHOUT LOVE FOR OUR NHS