A REPORT has shown the importance of people in Tenbury and the Teme Valley willing to be organ donors.

The number of people living in Worcestershire currently known to be alive thanks to organ transplants has reached 397.

This figure is revealed by NHS Blood and Transplant, whose annual transplant activity report, published today, shows the UK-wide number of people alive thanks to transplants has reached the milestone figure of 50,000.

NHS Blood and Transplant is now urging people in Tenbury and the Teme Valley to help even more people to survive by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

In Shropshire, the number of people on the organ donor register has increased by 27 per cent over the past five years. There are now 180,783 people on the NHS Organ Donor Register in Shropshire, compared to 142,208 five years ago.

Anyone can sign up as a donor on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Nationally, the number of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register reached a record number, 23.6 million. Today 36 per cent of the UK’s population is on the NHS Organ Donor Register, compared with 30 per cent five years ago.

The public support for donation also means more people in Worcestershire are receiving lifesaving and life-enhancing transplants. Last year 24 people in Worcestershire had transplants, compared to 23 five years ago.

Despite the record-breaking public commitment to donation, there is still a shortage of organ donors.

Nationally, three people still die a day in need of a transplant. There are still around 6,400 people currently waiting for a transplant.