PEOPLE from Dorset are being urged to give the ultimate Christmas gift this year and sign up to the organ donor register.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the national body that manages the organ donor register, has launched a new festive campaign called The Wait to show a day in the life of someone waiting for a transplant.

In Dorset, 72 people are desperately waiting for a transplant, with 30 of those waiting for more than two years and six of them for longer than five years.

This number has fallen since the Echo’s feature at the end of October when 99 people were waiting for a transplant.

Over the past decade, 49,000 in the United Kingdom have waited longer than a decade for a transplant, and the issue of organ donation has again been thrust under the spotlight following the death of New Zealand rugby star Jonah Lomu, who died of a heart attack linked to his chronic kidney condition.

It was reported that during the Rugby World Cup and the preceding months, Lomu was staying at a property with his family in Dorset, and was receiving dialysis treatment at Bournemouth Hospital three days a week.

Lomu was on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

Now, NHSBT has launched its latest campaign with a video called The Wait to encourage more people to sign up.

The video documents a day in the life of Simon Howell, 41, and his family, as he undergoes dialysis treatment. He has been waiting for a transplant since 2009.

Sally Johnson, NHS Blood and Transplant director of organ donation and transplantation, said: “Simon’s journey has already been a long and difficult one and while we are doing everything we can to make sure he gets the transplant he needs, the NHS cannot do this without help from other people.

“Sadly though, Simon is not alone. Statistically, more than one in 10 on the waiting list will die before they get the transplant they need. For some organs, the picture is significantly bleaker. More than one in four people waiting for lungs will die.

“If you haven’t told those closest to you that you want to be an organ donor, then please do it today. Record your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register please go to organdonation.nhs.uk orcall 0300 123 23 23