Organ donation video translated into 18 languages

By Simon Bristow

An intensive care consultant in Hull has translated an organ donation video into 18 languages to help people from all cultures consider the gift of life.

Dr Harish Lad, Clinical Lead in Organ Donation at Hull University Teaching Hospitals (HUTH), has produced a series of videos in different languages to promote organ donation.

The NHS Organ Donation video is used by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in television and social media advertising to support their “Leave Them Certain” message, asking people to ensure their families are aware of their decision to donate organs in the event of their deaths.

Dr Lad, who works in intensive care at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, said: “We want to reach out to all communities to make them aware of the importance of organ donation.

“These videos share key messages in people’s own languages, allowing them to reflect and relate to the issue and to help them begin to have those vital conversations with their loved ones.”

Each year, hundreds of opportunities for transplants are missed because families aren’t sure what their loved one would have wanted.

The “Leave Them Certain” video shows a son sharing memories of his father, with the man laughing and dancing at family parties and having fun on family holidays.

The son says: “I remember Dad’s dance moves, his killer ‘tache. Dad was just a really happy character. I remember his smile.”

The video cuts to the son standing in a hospital corridor. “But I also remember when they asked if he wanted to be an organ donor – and I just didn’t know.”

It ends with the message: “Talk to your loved ones about organ donation.”

Dr Lad has arranged for the video to be translated into Arabic, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Romanian, and Greek.

A spokeswoman for NHSBT said: “The translated versions of our Leave Them Certain videos will really help to engage with a wider audience about the role of the family in organ donation decisions, and why it’s so important to talk to your loved ones.

“We really appreciate the time and effort that Dr Lad has committed to the project to enable this key activity and look forward to hearing the impact these videos have within communities.”