A RISE in the number of people alive in Wiltshire thanks to organ donation has been welcomed as an important milestone by a specialist at Great Western Hospital.

Nearly 500 people in Wiltshire owe their lives to the goodwill of others, according to figures published by NHS Blood and Transplant.

One of those is a grandfather-of-three who was given just two years to live because of an enlarged heart.

Ron Carter, from Helmsdale, Haydon Wick, was given a life-line when a heart matching his blood type became available through a donor.

The organ was flown in a ‘beating box’ from Belfast to Papworth Hospital in Cambridge where he underwent transplant surgery.

The 68-year-old now says he wakes up every day thankful to the stranger who gave him the gift of life, allowing him to spend precious time with his wife, children and granddaughters.

“Thanks to my donor I’m alive and I’m fit and healthy,” he said.

“I’ve had nine-and-a-half years of life which has given me a chance to see my grandchildren and a chance to do lots of things.

"I’m forever grateful to my donor. All I know about him is he was a man from Belfast in Northern Ireland who was younger than me by about six years.

“I’m in constant admiration of him and all the other donors out there and not a day goes by when I don’t wake up being thankful for the gift of life.

“When I hear all the whinging about various things in the world it just passes me by. I’m just very grateful. Life is good.”

Ron is a keen tennis player who plays four or five times a week and is also now able to take part in running events.

“If there are more hearts and other organs available it makes it so much better for people,” he said.

Ron is on the donors’ register himself.

Allison Salmon, a specialist nurse in organ donation, has the sensitive task of giving families advice about organ donation when a loved one is in intensive care at the hospital.

She says: “The figures are really encouraging.

“It makes a tremendous difference to the recipients.

"Someone with kidney failure could be on dialysis for six to eight hours a day and unable to lead a normal life such as going to work or on holidays.

“Donating a kidney makes an enormous difference to their quality of life. Donating any organ can also save someone’s life, especially in the case of heart and lung transplants.

“But there is still lots of work to be done as three people a day nationally are dying while waiting on the transplant list and there are three times more people receiving donations than becoming donors.”

A total of 497 people alive in Wiltshire due to organ donation, according to the annual Transplant Activity Report. Last year 58 people in the county had transplants, compared to 35 five years ago.

Increasing numbers are benefitting because of improving survival rates and increased public support for organ donation.

The number of registered donors in Wiltshire has increased by 26 per cent over the past five years from 233,965 to 269,529.

Nationally, the number of people signed up is at a record 23.6 million.

Each donation after death can transform up to nine lives and living donations – usually a kidney – can also be made.

However there is still a shortage of donors, particularly among black and Asian people, who are more likely to be a match for patients from the same background.

Sally Johnson, director of organ donation and transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “More people than ever in Wiltshire are committing to organ donation and that is saving more lives than ever.

"It’s amazing to picture all the people now alive today thanks to organ donation and think of all the families and children who have grown up thanks to donors.

“We’re seeing more and more people committing to donation and the good results of our close work with hospitals.

"Our specialist nurses in organ donation are now almost always involved in discussions with families over organ donation.

“However there is still a long way to go. Around three people still die a day in need of a transplant.

“Families tell us donation is a source of pride that helps them in their grieving process.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk