Organ Donation Week 2026 to encourage families to talk about donation decisions

People across the UK will be encouraged to register and, crucially, talk to their families about their organ donation decision as Organ Donation Week returns from 22 to 28 September 2026.

The annual campaign brings together the NHS, healthcare professionals, charities, patients and families to raise awareness of organ donation and the difference transplantation can make to people living with serious and life-threatening conditions.

A central message of the week is the importance of making a decision about organ donation and ensuring loved ones know what that decision is.

While organ donation legislation has changed across the UK in recent years, conversations between families and healthcare professionals remain an important part of the donation process. Knowing someone’s wishes can help relatives faced with an incredibly difficult situation understand the decision their loved one wanted to make.

For professionals working across healthcare, Organ Donation Week is also an opportunity to recognise the complex and sensitive work involved in donation and transplantation.

Specialist nurses, intensive care teams, surgeons, transplant professionals and many others work alongside patients and families at extraordinarily difficult moments, helping to make donation possible while supporting those experiencing grief and loss.

The impact can extend far beyond the hospital. Transplant recipients may require lifelong follow-up and medication, while primary care, pharmacy, community healthcare and other services can all play a part in supporting people following transplantation.

Throughout Organ Donation Week, organisations and communities will take part in activities designed to increase awareness and encourage more conversations about donation.

For health and social care employers, the week provides an opportunity to share information with staff, celebrate the work of donation and transplant teams and encourage employees to discuss their own wishes with the people closest to them.

Ultimately, the campaign is not only about joining the NHS Organ Donor Register. It is about making a decision and ensuring the people who may one day be asked about it already know what that decision is.

Organ Donation Week takes place from 22 to 28 September 2026.

Find out more from NHS Blood and Transplant

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