AN URGENT appeal has been issued after patients died waiting for transplants in Hampshire.

Families are being encouraged to talk about donation during Organ Donation Week from today until September 9.

New figures show 77 people from the local area have died waiting for an organ transplant in the last five years.

Despite the fact more people are supporting donating their loved one’s organs, there is still a crucial need for more people to support donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant is now urging more people to tell their families that they want to save lives through organ donation.

Last year, 135 people in Hampshire had their lives saved by a transplant.

Anthony Clarkson, interim director of organ donation and transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “It’s tragic that so many people from Hampshire have died waiting for a transplant – what is shocking is that many of those lives could have been saved, had more families agreed to donate organs.

“People are dying every day because some families are not talking about donation.

Right now, there are over 6,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant across the UK.

Carla Gair, 42, from Totton received a heart transplant in 2014.

After a cardiac arrest in 2007, the mother-of-two learnt she suffered from Dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart’s ability to pump blood is decreased.

In 2012, Carla was put on the transplant list and after many false alarms she received a transplant in 2014.

She said: “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my transplant.

“My life has been changed so dramatically, I’ve been able to live another four years.”

Carla added: “Organ donation is not on everyone’s radars unless you have personally experienced it.

“I think more families need to talk about it so that they understand family member’s wishes.”