THE Daily Echo is campaigning for more people in Dorset to register for organ donation this Christmas – as figures show 28 patients in the county have died while waiting on the register in the last five years.

Thirty-nine lives have been saved in the area so far in 2014 thanks to families agreeing to donate a loved one’s organs, often when they are at the height of their grief.

However, with 81 people in Dorset still desperately waiting for an organ transplant, more are needed and a Poole nurse is among those championing the cause and urging people to take just a few minutes to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Helen Rose, a specialist nurse in organ donation covering Poole Hospital, said: “It is humbling to work with people following the loss of a loved one and it is very rewarding to fulfil the wishes of a donor and their family to save lives.”

Christmas can be a difficult time for people on the transplant waiting list. Their condition may mean they are too sick to enjoy it and many will worry it could be their last.

Some severely ill people might spend the whole of festive season in hospital, just hoping they get a life-saving transplant Another specialist transplant nurse, Lucy Dames, who will be working on Christmas Day and covers Bournemouth Hospital, said the constant threat of dying is an awful experience for those on the waiting list, adding: “It is absolutely lovely to be able to write to families and let them know they have been able to save and improve people’s lives.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register, visit organdonation.nhs .uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or text SAVE to 62323. Once you have signed up tell those closest to you that you want to donate.