Organ Donation Week takes place from Monday 22 September to Sunday 28 September 2025. It is an annual event run by the NHS dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of organ donation and encouraging people to discuss organ donation with their loved ones and make an informed decision about donating their organs after death.

What is organ donation?

Organ donation is the gift of an organ to help someone who needs a transplant. Thousands of lives across the UK are saved or transformed each year by organ transplants.

The gift of life

As part of Organ Donation Week, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance would like to recognise the transformative gift of organ donation, and honour those who have donated, even in the most tragic circumstances.

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance attends the most critically ill and injured patients in the region, and while our pre-hospital critical care team make every effort to enable patients to recover from their injuries, sadly, some patient’s injuries are so severe that they do not survive. In these devastating moments, organ donation can offer a powerful legacy of hope, giving others the gift of life, even in the face of great loss.

Over the last 12 months, 51 lives have been saved and transformed with the donation of organs by patients who were looked after by our team. We would like to take this opportunity to recognise and commemorate the patients and their loved ones who enabled others to have a second chance of life, with the life-saving gift of organ donation. Our thoughts remain with the patient’s family and friends.

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