A FESTIVAL held in Wimborne which raises awareness of the organ donor register has made £7,500 for charity.

Hen Fest, which took place at Dean’s Court earlier this month, is organised every year by Gail Stewart in support of her daughter, Kate Hennessy, 22, who has Cystic Fibrosis.

It featured a host of music and entertainment for the lucky ticket holders, to raise funds for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity, which have helped Kate over the years.

Gail said: “It was an absolutely fantastic and beautiful day in a great venue.”

She added: “We were absolutely thrilled that everything went so well. As I said on our website, we had three major aims.

“They were to raise awareness of the organ donation register, for everybody to leave the event with a smile and to make shed-loads of money, which were all accomplished.

“To make £7,500 is fantastic but no amount of money will buy a new pair of lungs. So, if we can use the Hen Fest as a vehicle to promote the register then more lives can be saved if people sign up to it.

“We had five people at this year’s event who have all been helped by an organ transplant, including four people who have had double lung transplants like Kate, and one person who had a heart transplant.”

Ahead of the event Gail had spoken to Daily Echo about how her daughter had been given a second chance at life after receiving a transplant in August 2012 and they would like other families to have the same opportunity.

For more information, search for Hen Fest on Facebook or go to organdonation.nhs.uk