New sculpture inspired by organ donors unveiled
The loved ones of organ donors and organ recipients were brought together for Saad Qureshi to unveil his new piece of artwork at The Royal London Hospital, which is inspired by the real-life experiences of giving and receiving organs.
The unveiling of the new organ donor memorial marks Organ Donation Week. It was commissioned in collaboration with Barts Health, Vital Arts, NHS Blood and Transplant and Barts Charity.
Before beginning the work Qureshi spent time with Barts Health patients, the loved ones of organ donors, and organ recipients. He listened to stories about significant moments in their lives and used the themes as inspiration for his final work.
One person was Lisa, who sits on the Organ Donation Committee at Barts Health. In December 2015, Lisa’s son Tom, who was 22 years old at the time, was playing hockey when he was hit on the back of the head in a training session. Tragically, Tom then suffered a brain hemorrhage and had a heart attack on the pitch.
[Lisa, pictured above, with organ recipients Fatima and Gordon whose lives were saved thanks to Tom's organ donation]
Commenting on the new sculpture, Lisa said:
I will sit by the memorial and gain great comfort from knowing my son Tom is now being remembered through this legacy, this artwork. I hope many others will draw strength and reflect on their loved ones too.
Emily, whose mother Ann was an organ donor, was also part of the group speaking to Qureshi, she said:
I remain enduringly proud of my mum Ann, for the gift she has given to others and for being on the register so that when the worst happened, we knew her wishes, no questions.
Tim Owen Jones, Specialist Nurse Organ Donation at the hospital, notes:
Every day in the UK, someone loses their life whilst waiting for a transplant. This memorial serves to remind us that, at their most vulnerable, Barts Health families make the choice to support their loved one’s decision to save the lives of others. Our organ donors selflessly donate to strangers and we know what a positive legacy this creates. But still there are not enough people on the Organ Donor Register to save all 7,000 people currently waiting. The organ donor memorial and its message will hopefully do something to change this.
Speaking about the project to honour organ donors, Qureshi [picture below] said:
I want to explore the notion of continuity: of memory over and beyond lifetime, and of the gift of donation, where a person gives an organ so that another can live, but that in doing so, a part of the donor’s body is offered a new lease of life... When we look at people, we see their outward appearance, which is extremely diverse across the world, but inside we are all flesh, blood and bone.
What fundamentally distinguishes us is our memory, the events of our lives. The phenomenon of organ donation brings a new imaginative dimension to the notion of what it is to be alive.
Over 60,000 people are currently alive in the UK today, thanks to receiving the precious gift of life from a donor. However, over 7,000 are still waiting and as recovery from the pandemic continues this number is expected to rise.
The more people who register their support for donation, the more lives can be saved. Just one organ donor can save up to nine lives or improve up to 50 lives if tissue is also donated.