Emily Graves spoke with the Rt Revd James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle who is the lead Bishop on healthcare for the Church of England about the fleshandblood campaign.

Bishop James Newcome: Well at the moment in the Church of England we still feel that it's probably best to opt in rather than opt out. It's a difficult debate and you can see the argument both ways. Some Christians would prefer it if it was an opt-out system, but at the moment our official position in the Church of England is still that we favour the opt-in.

Emily: So how can the UK church and others help support the NHS in order to reach their goal?

Bishop James Newcome: I think the main way is by as many Christians as possible getting along to a local blood-donor centre and giving their blood and by making sure that they sign up to the organ register, which would be just incredibly useful. Also just by discussing this, not only with their families, but with their friends as well and encouraging them to do it. That's really what we are trying to get people to do.

Emily: Do you have any tips for anyone who maybe wants to have that conversation with their families but they're not quite sure how to approach the topic?

Bishop James Newcome: Very often I think it can be useful if there's a story in the newspaper or something about somebody who's received an organ or given an organ; that can be a good jumping-off point for that kind of conversation to take place. You could say, "Is that something you'd think of doing"? Or, "It's something I've thought about and I'm going to sign up", or, "I have signed up". I know some people find it a difficult subject to raise because it includes, in the case of organ donation, talking about death, but the more we can do that the better.

Emily: If we want to find out more information about either the research or the campaign, how can we find out more?

Bishop James Newcome: There is a website called fleshandblood.org and that has got quite a lot of details, with both practical and creative resources and ways to engage churches, Christian unions and communities. If people want to text they can register with texts and they can either go on to the blood register with a text to FAB BLOOD 62323 or FAB ORGAN to 62323.