NEW figures show 46 people in Cornwall have died on the waiting list for an organ transplant over the past 10 years.

NHS Blood and Transplant revealed the statistic to mark Organ Donation Week (September 4 to 10) and is now urging people to tell their families they want to become donors.

The organisation says hundreds of life-saving transplants are being missed every year because families don’t know what their relative wanted.

Anthony Clarkson, assistant director of organ donation and transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: ‘The reluctance to talk about the issue is contributing to a deadly shortage of organs.

‘In Cornwall, there are currently 50 people waiting for a transplant.

‘They will only receive that life-changing call if people make sure their families know they want to be a donor.’

To support Organ Donation Week visit www.nhsbt.nhs.uk