This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Organ donation teaching pack
03/11/2003
A better informed nation about organ donation and
transplantation is the main aim of a new teaching resource
pack.
The pack, believed to be the only one of its kind in the
world, aims to educate senior pupils on the issues
surrounding organ donation. It does not promote the subject
or pressurise them into consent or participation.
It includes sections on:
- Ethical and religious issues
- Transplant laws and the need for transplants
- The transplantation process
- Donor and recipient stories
- A question and answer section
- Activity sheets with quizzes
The pack is supported by a video which provides real
life stories concerning organ donation and
transplantation.
Launching the pack, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm
said:
"This is a remarkable initiative and as far as we are
aware pioneering. Scotland appears to be the first country
in the world to develop such as a resource pack for use in
schools. All those involved in its creation should be very
proud.
"Apart from its intrinsic value as a teaching resource,
the development of this pack has the potential, over time,
to create a generation who can make informed choices about
organ donation.
"These materials have been specifically written to
create awareness, impart information, and to encourage
discussion on the ethical issues around organ donation and
transplantation. Knowledge and information should also
reduce any possible fears and confusions around these
sensitive issues."
"The aim of the pack is to educate young people on the
issues surrounding organ donation and transplantation, not
to promote the subject or pressurise them into consent or
participation.
"The importance of these resources and the implicit
methodology cannot be overstated. As citizens, young
people, like all of us, are required to make decisions. It
is hoped that these resources will go some way to help in
this process of informed decision making in the highly
important and sensitive area of organ donation."
Sue Sutherland, the Chief Executive of UK Transplant
said:
"This is an exciting and innovative scheme. The pack
will enable teenagers to explore the complex range of
ethical and moral issues surrounding organ donation and
transplantation as part of their course work and encourage
them to talk about it with their family and friends.
"We know from our research that while many adults find
this a difficult subject to discuss, children of school age
have much less difficulty in doing so. The project has the
potential, over time, to raise a more educated generation
who make informed choices about organ donation and related
issues and bring about a fundamental shift in public
attitudes towards organ donation."
The development of the Organ Donation Teaching Resource
Pack was one of
the key recommendations in the Scottish Transplant
Groups, Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland, published in
July 2002.
The Scottish Transplant Group was set up in February
2001 to provide advice and make recommendations to the
Scottish Executive on all matters relating to organ
donation and transplantation. Its membership is made up of
clinicians from each of the transplant units in Scotland,
patient representatives, a Local Health Council member, a
donor family representative and United Kingdom Transplant
(UKT).
UK Transplant is a Special Health Authority charged with
maintaining the NHS Organ Donor register and allocating
available donor organs on a UK basis.
The Pack, which was developed with advice from Learning
and Teaching Scotland and the Schools Inspectorate,
contains information on all issues surrounding organ
donation and transplantation. Great care has been taken in
its development to ensure that as an educational tool it is
aimed at creating awareness, imparting information and
encouraging discussion on the ethical issues around organ
donation and transplantation. Teachers will be encouraged
to use it as a source of fresh material to supplement
existing teaching aids.
The Pack contains written material for use by teachers
in preparing lessons in Senior School, Personal, Social
Education Programmes. The short video which has also been
prepared as part of the Pack provides real life stories
about organ donation and transplantation, and it is
intended to be used as a general introduction.
At the end of 2002, 609 people in Scotland were on the
waiting list for an organ: 577 for a kidney, 21 for a heart
or heart and lungs and 18 for a liver. About 50 people die
each year while waiting for a new organ.
You can view a part of the video that comes with the
teaching pack by clicking on the link above. The clip
features the story of the Murray family who lost their son
to a fatal accident, and consequently had to make
hard decisions about organ donation.