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Hospital unit was going to close because of Government cuts, so we petitioned and won.
Live Life Then Give Life
Last year nearly 500 people in the UK died whilst waiting for organ transplants. With everyone's help we can make a difference to the 8000 people waiting right now for that life-changing chance. Please look at the very important slideshow and do the right thing sign the donor register Slideshow
A red double-decker bus will be returning to the streets of London at this year’s Lord Mayor’s Show to promote organ donation, almost a year to the day since the last Routemaster bus was taken out of service.
And the honour of driving the 1962 former London Transport Routemaster bus in front of an estimated crowd of more than half a million people, has fallen to one-time lorry driver and double lung transplant recipient Vic Rawlings, from Birmingham.
The Organ Donor Bus has been touring the country since August, visiting towns and cities where visitors have been able to find out more from transplant recipients and coordinators about organ donation and how to join the 13.7 million people already on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).
It will weave its way down the M1 visiting Northampton, Milton Keynes, Luton and Watford on the third and final leg of its national tour, before joining the thousands of other pageant entries at the Lord Mayor’s Show on Saturday, 11 November.
This is the first time UK Transplant has entered the event, which is nearly 800-years-old. Volunteers, including transplant recipients, will be on board to enjoy the procession, many of which have been involved from the start of the bus’s tour.
The continuing shortage of donated organs means there are currently more than 8,000 people needing an organ transplant to save or transform their life. Last year, almost 500 people died while waiting for a transplant because no suitable organ was available.
Mr Rawlings, 61, underwent a successful double lung transplant in January 1998 at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, after being diagnosed with emphysema in 1986.
He said: “I am really proud to be involved and to be driving the bus. It’s a great opportunity to try and get more people to sign up to the donor register. If it weren’t for donors then I wouldn’t have had my transplant.”
Angie Burton, UK Transplant Marketing & Campaigns Manager, who has organised the tour, said: “The Donor Bus has been a popular attraction wherever it has been, so it encourages people to visit it and find out about organ donation and transplantation.
“To be a part of such a large scale event as the Lord Mayor’s Show is an excellent opportunity to further raise awareness of just how vital the donor register is.
