Emily Graves spoke with the Rt Revd James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle who is the lead Bishop on healthcare for the Church of England about the fleshandblood campaign.

Rt Revd James Newcome

New research conducted as part of the fleshandblood campaign suggests Christians in the UK are above average when it comes to choosing to donate their organs. Whilst 31% of the UK population overall have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register, 48% of the Christians surveyed said they had signed up. As the campaign continues to raise the profile of donation within the UK Church it is hoped that many more registrations will follow.

Around 1,000 people die each year in the UK in need of an organ transplant. This unique campaign seeks to equip individuals and churches as advocates for blood and organ donation, enabling them to raise awareness of blood and organ donation with their family, friends and community and potentially help to save thousands of lives each year.

Emily Graves spoke with the Rt Revd James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle who is the lead Bishop on healthcare for the Church of England about the campaign.

Emily: Please could you begin by introducing yourself and telling us more about the work you are involved in?

Bishop James Newcome: Certainly. I am Bishop of Carlisle, which is basically the Diocese of Cumbria. It covers the whole of Cumbria. One of my roles as a bishop is to be responsible for issues of health-care. That means NHS and its reforms and the various things that the government are doing. I talk with government about that. It also means chaplaincy work; hospital chaplaincy and hospice chaplaincy. We have about 500 chaplains around the country and I engage with them. It covers issues of medical ethics. That is anything from assisted suicide through to euthanasia or abortion and I look after the Church's ministry of healing.

Emily: So how are you involved with the Flesh and Blood campaign?

Bishop James Newcome: This is one of the health-care issues that we're concerned with at the moment. There is a little organisation called Kore that has been working as a publicity organisation; they have been working with the NHS on increasing the number of people who give blood and who are prepared to be on the organ-donor register. I've been quite closely involved with them. They're having a very successful time at the moment. They produce quite a lot of publicity and are trying to encourage more and more people in the first place to talk about blood and organ donation and in the second place to donate.

Emily: Have there been difficulties in approaching the topic of organ donation and blood donation in the past?

Bishop James Newcome: There have yes. One of the things that has become apparent is that quite a number of people have signed up on the register and so are willing to give their organs should they die, but they've never actually discussed it with their relatives. When the time comes, when the relatives are approached, they are obviously in shock and don't quite know what to do. The relatives have tended to say, "No, we don't want the organs to be taken". So even though the person themselves wanted the organs to go, they haven't gone. We are in a position where 1,000 people each day are waiting for a transplant and we need quite a lot of extra people to sign up to be donors and so that's one of the reasons why we want people to discuss this issue with their relatives.

Emily: And you are trying to encourage more people to sign up as well?

Bishop James Newcome: Yes we are. We want people to sign up and we also want people to give blood. We need about 7,000 units of blood every day for transplants and infusions and we need another couple of 100,000 blood donors. That's one of the reasons for this campaign run by the NHS and with which we're closely involved. It does seem at the moment that Christians are above average in being on the donor register and in giving their blood too.

Emily: 31% of the UK population are on the NHS organ donation register and 48% of the Christians that were surveyed have said that they'd signed up. What was most surprising about this?

Bishop James Newcome: I don't think I was that surprised, because one of the things we've been emphasising is that giving blood and being prepared to be on the organ-donor register is part of what the Christian Church calls stewardship. In other words recognising that we've been given an awful lot by God, in terms of our time and our gifts and our possessions and money and so we want to give some of that back. Among the things we've been given are our bodies and the blood that's in them and the organs that are in them and I think quite a lot of Christians have heard some of the incredibly moving stories from families where either a young person has been killed and their organs have gone to somebody else and really transformed that other person's life, or the other way round where somebody has been on the verge of death and by having an organ transplant their life has been changed. These are tremendously moving stories. I think Christians have responded to that very, very well. We're concerned through this campaign to get even more onto the register.

Emily: So what are your thoughts on the recent law change in Wales about the presumed consent of organ donation?