Case studies

Kidney Wales Foundation - "People Like Us" campaign

The Kidney Wales Foundation, with the help of Positif Politics ran a successful campaign to improve the delivery of renal services in Wales, raise the number of organ donors and develop the debate about organ donation in Wales.

A coalition of organisations with an interest in promoting organ donation was brought together - including the BMA, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and a range of other third sector organisations, such as RNIB, Diabetes UK, British Heart Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the British Liver Trust.

They secured the support of the Health Minister, Edwina Hart for their campaign.

They submitted a petition through the Assembly’s petitions process. It was the first one to be submitted by an organisation rather than a group of individuals and the campaign ensured they involved the media to maximise publicity when they submitted their petition.

Their petition asked clearly and simply for funding from the Minister for an organ donor campaign and for an inquiry into presumed consent for organ donation by the Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee.

It has been judged a successful campaign because money has been secured for the Tell a Loved One organ donation campaign which also has significant corporate and celebrity backing.

Also the Committee inquiry into presumed consent has resulted in a number of positive actions, including:

• increased awareness of the issues;

• a review of transplant capacity across Wales; and

• rejection of a legislative competence order to introduce presumed consent by the Committee BUT this recommendation has been rejected by the Minister who has not ruled out the possibility of legislating for presumed consent and is undertaking further consultation on the matter

Commenting on the value of the People Like Us campaign, Health Minister Edwina Hart AM said,

"(People Like Us) has been an exceptionally responsible campaign that has tried to highlight what practical actions we can take to improve the quality of life of patients with renal problems... The Kidney Wales Foundation has done an excellent job in highlighting these issues to the public and to us as politicians. It is to be commended for that, because that is the role of the voluntary sector. The good thing is that the voluntary sector can see quite clearly that it has been successful in helping Government to look at their policies. That is a plus for the Government and for the working of the National Assembly, which is an important point to note."