Meet the Orgamites

There are nine Orgamites characters altogether. Led by Captain Marrow (as in “Bone Marrow”), Eye (which represents the transplantable cornea), Liver, Heart, Kidney, twin Lungs, Pancreas and Small Bowel (or Small Intestine). Most people have two kidneys, but we show one to help raise questions and facts around living donors.

CAPTAIN mARROW

Captain Marrow is the leader of the Orgamites. He is a head teacher type, fussy, like C3PO in Star Wars. But all the others love him, look up to him. He literally holds them all together.

Cap can sometimes be too bossy, and panics a little when under stress.

Vital Statistics
There are 206 bones in your body, plus three tiny ones in each ear, for a total of 212! Your bones provide shape, and protect everything from your brain to your spine.

Bone marrow transplants replace damaged blood cells with healthy ones, which can help treat some kinds of cancer. It’s a long and complicated process.

HEART

He is the heartbeat of the group, their emotional leader. Heart does everything with a steady rhythm – taps his feet, drums his fingers, moves rhythmically.

He is like a puppy, enthusiastic, eager, optimistic, though maybe a little naive.

Vital Statistics
Your heart pumps blood around your body to all your organs, tissues and cells, delivering oxygen and nutrients and removing waste.

Heart transplants are rarely performed in the UK, due to a shortage of donors. People typically wait up to six months for a donor heart.

EYE

Eye is your long-time friend who always knows everything about everything, but is really hiding his insecurities. He is observant, witty, always on the ball, though sometimes sarcastic. That means he is the one who points things out, see what’s going on.

However, behind the bluff exterior, Eye can be quite fearful. There’s a vulnerability to him that the others understand.

Vital Statistics
The Cornea (the transparent tissue layer at the front of the eye) can be transplanted to restore the sight of a person with an eye condition or injury. People close in age to the donor are usually selected as recipients.

Around 3500 people have their sight restored through a corneal transplant each year in the UK.

SMALL BOWEL

Small Bowel (or more correctly, Small Intestine – but he hates being called small!) is a chilled out surfer dude in his green flip flops. He is always relaxed, moves slowly. He seems a bit slow witted but can be sly.

Small Bowel, of course, makes lots of farts and squelching noises. He is always thinking and talking about food – it’s his favourite subject – and finds ways to slip it into every conversation.

Vital Statistics
Your bowel, or small intestine, is where 90% of digestion takes place, getting the essential nutrients and vitamins from your food.

The wait for a bowel transplant is long – around 2 years – so this is quite a rare organ to be transplanted.

KIDNEY

Kidney is all about water, purity, cleanliness. She focuses on cleaning things up, is bright, energetic, always looking for something to wash or polish.

Kidney is always very busy, almost scatty, talks non-stop.

Vital Statistics
Your kidneys are constantly working, filtering waste and extra water out of your blood. This helps to control blood pressure, keep your bones healthy, and make red blood cells.

Although it is the most transplanted organ, there are so many people needing kidneys, and so few donors, that the wait for a kidney is typically 2-3 years, sometimes much longer.

LIVER

Liver is concerned with blood, moves steadily, rationing energy.

Liver is the mother of the group. She helps Kidney slow down, tries to get slow moving Bowel to speed up. She peps the group up when they are tired or listless.

Vital Statistics
The liver is one of the busiest organs – it cleans your blood, helps digest food, and stores energy for when you need it.

The average waiting time for a liver transplant in the UK is 145 days for adults and 72 days for children. It is the second most transplanted organ.

LUNGS

Twins – of course! – the lungs are always together, always slowly pulsing in and out. They are fearful, don’t like to be separated – they even start and finish each other’s sentences.

Lungs are the youngsters, the babies of the group. They are very busy, very helpful, love to help others. They huff and puff when they are worried, have to be told to slow down.

Vital Statistics
Your lungs work constantly, bringing oxygen into your body, and taking carbon dioxide out.

Lung transplants are very complicated, and with a typical wait of over a year, up to 30% of those waiting for a lung transplant won’t survive due to the shortage of donors.

PANCREAS

Pancreas is the quiet one. She says little, is always at the back of the group, but when the Orgamites are busy, Pancreas always helps Bowel get things done. Bowel looks to Pancreas for help, knows he needs Pancreas.

Pancreas is the planner in the group, has often thought of and done things before the others even realise they need doing.

Vital Statistics
The pancreas is very helpful, assisting the small intestine to digest food, and helping your body use that food for energy. Pancreas transplants are quite rare, with a two year waiting list.

Overall, there are 7000 people in the UK waiting for a transplant, with around 1300 people dying every year waiting for a transplant.