THOUSANDS of people in Oxfordshire have been thanked for backing an Oxford Mail appeal for them to sign the Organ Donor Register.

They signed up after it emerged that five people in the county died last year before receiving the transplant they needed, and 76 people in the county are still waiting for a transplant.

During Organ Donation Week, which started on September 5, mum Vicki Luker 39, from Wantage, told how she needed a pancreas transplant which could change her life by stabilising her diabetes.

She urged more people to register and now it has emerged that the number of people on the register in the county has gone up from 296,868 in August to 300,096 by the beginning of October.

Mrs Luker, 39, has brittle diabetes, a particularly hard-to-control type 1 diabetes which causes her blood sugar to rise and drop at rapid rates, is backing the newspaper's Organ Donor Appeal.

The former bank manager, who lives with husband Matthew, 42, and daughter Ellie, 14, in Wantage, said: "I am still waiting for a transplant but I am delighted there are now thousands more people on the register - potentially that can make a big difference and I would urge other people to sign up as well."

Mrs Luker, who is lucky to be alive after blacking out and crashing her car on the A34, has persuaded her builder Richard Jones, from Berinsfield, near Wallingford, to sign the register.

Father-of-two Mr Jones, 34, who lives with wife Donna, 35, and twin sons Harry and Frank, three, said: "I had a chat with Vicki and wanted to help by signing the register, so I filled out the form and I think other people should sign up as well."

HOW TO HELP

In Oxfordshire, 42 people received a potentially lifesaving or transforming transplant between April last year and March. But about four out of 10 families in the UK did not agree to donate a relative’s organs.

Sally Johnson, director of organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said earlier: “We’re very grateful to every family in Oxfordshire who supported a relative’s decision to donate, or who made the decision to donate on behalf of their relative last year.

“Many families in Oxfordshire tell us they take huge comfort in knowing that their relative has saved the lives of others. We recognise that families are approached about organ donation at a difficult time, but with almost all of us prepared to take an organ if we need one, we need to be ready to donate too."

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register visit organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 2323.

Consultant Transplant Physician Dr Paul Harden, who is based at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, said the Oxford Mail was 'making a big difference' by highlighting the experience of patients, including Derek Adams, 56, from Wheatley and his daughter Kelly Adams.

Mr Adams told earlier this month how he had saved his daughter's life by donating a kidney after she developed chronic kidney disease.

The transplant operation last year was a success and Miss Adams recently gave birth to baby son Frankie.

Dr Harden added: "I think the increase in the number of people on the register shows the Oxford Mail is really making a difference.

"Stories like Kelly's are very touching and it also gets people having a donation conversation.

"That's important because some people sign the register but they don't tell their family, and we lose some organ donations because the conversation has not taken place."

Although some people signed the register before the campaign started, the Oxford Mail has been praised for boosting the total.

Becky Clarke, an NHS Blood and Transplant Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation based in Oxford, said: "We’re delighted to support the Oxford Mail’s campaign, and we hope it will continue to inspire people in the county to join the Organ Donor Register and then talk about organ donation.

"Every day, three people in the UK die in need of a transplant because there aren’t enough organ donors. Please register to donate at organdonation.nhs.uk and then tell your family your decision.

"Letting your family know will make it much easier for them to uphold your decision.

"With your support, we can save and transform more lives."