The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has called on people to register their organ donation decision and discuss it with family members during Organ Donation Week, which runs from 21 to 27 September.

Dr George Gardiner, the trust's Executive Director of Medicine, said organ donation can save and transform lives but there is a significant need for more donors. He encouraged people to make their wishes known and talk to loved ones, noting that donation is only possible through the generosity of donors and families who support donation at a difficult time.

Northern Ireland operates an opt-out system, but family support remains vital to ensure donation proceeds. The trust is urging people to record their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Among those sharing their experience is Connie Taylor, 19, from Carrickfergus. Taylor received a multi-organ transplant at 13 months old and is now studying at Ulster University. She said she was born with a rare condition affecting her digestive and urinary organs and was put on the transplant waiting list. After over a year of waiting, she received a liver, stomach, pancreas and small bowel transplant in 2008 at Birmingham Children's Hospital. She said the donor's mother's decision to donate saved her life and at least three others.

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust and the Public Health Agency also encouraged families to discuss organ donation. They highlighted the story of Fintan McCabe, who died in January 2007 at age 17 after a choking accident. McCabe's eyes, heart valves, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas were donated, benefiting eight people. His family described him as fun-loving and full of life.

As of 31 August 2026, there were 156 people waiting for a transplant in Northern Ireland. Each year around 10 to 15 people die while waiting. The trusts said that only half of families agree to donation if they do not know their loved one's wishes, but this rises to nine out of ten when the decision is known.

In the Northern Trust area last year, ten people donated organs after death, leading to 26 transplants, including heart and lung procedures.

People can register their decision at www.organdonationni.info or call 0300 123 23 23.