AN ICU nurse from the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary has put pen to paper to write a children’s book to teach them all about organ donation.
Mark Ainscough, who works at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) penned ‘Freddie and the Magic Heart’, which will be distributed to all Specialist Nurses for Organ Donation in NHS hospitals across the UK so that they can be used to support families.
As a dad himself, Mark was inspired to write the book to try and explain organ donation to children.
He said: “Often, people don’t think too much about organ donation until they are confronted with it in terrible circumstances.
“I tried to imagine how hard it would be to communicate this to a child and felt that it would be beneficial to have a children’s book that was engaging and fun to read about organ donation.”
The book, which has been illustrated by Lulu McWilliams from Sheffield, tells the story of a little boy who finds out that there are thousands of people in need of organs and that his dying mum could help those people by giving her ‘recycled parts’ to them.
Vikki Lloyd, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, based at WWL, encouraged Mark to pursue the crowdfunding idea when he approached her with his concept.
She said: “Intensive care units can be a very daunting place for young children, and it is often difficult to explain to them what is happening in a way that they would understand; Mark’s book does just that.
“It’s an amazing idea and not only will it provide invaluable support to children in that situation, but it will also help raise awareness of organ donation in the younger generation.”
Mark raised £2,510 via crowdfunding for the production and printing costs of the book, with the NHS Blood and Transplant Organ Donation Committee providing up to £2k for the remainder of the printing costs and the distribution of the book.
Angie Scales, Paediatric Lead Nurse at NHS Blood and Transplant which oversees organ donation in the UK, said: “It is great that Mark has written a book aimed at children to raise awareness of organ donation and what happens when someone donates to save lives.
“It is good to have another way to explain to children the amazing gift their loved one is giving.
“I’m sure Freddie and the Magic Heart will help many families at a tragic time and prompt more family conversations about organ donation.
“We need families to talk about organ donation for all members of the family, including children, and to confirm their decisions on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”
Now that the book is finally published, Mark says he is proud of the project and thanked everyone involved in making it happen, adding: “It feels great to finally have the book available for everyone to read and I would like to say a huge thank you to all the people that contributed to the crowdfunder.
“It feels fantastic that so many people helped us to make the book a reality, but I would especially like to thank Vikki Lloyd, Ann Joyce and Neil Simms for their guidance and support, and Lulu McWilliams for bringing Freddie to life with her beautiful illustrations. I hope we can make a difference.”
There are around 1,500 organ donors a year in the UK, enabling thousands of lives to be saved.
Thousands more patients are waiting for an organ transplant in the UK and every day across the UK someone dies in need of an organ transplant.
To confirm your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register visit organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 1232323.
NHS app users can also use the service to record, check or update their organ donation decision.
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