A CAMPAIGN has been launched to encourage more people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Fewer than half of residents in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, which covers Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, are currently on the register.

However, the need for donors remains high, with almost 200 people in the area in need of a kidney transplant alone.

It is hoped the new campaign – being launched to coincide with Organ Donation Week, which runs from Monday, September 3 until Sunday, September 9 – will help to save lives.

Megan Reid, a specialist nurse with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Being able to donate organs and tissue to help people who desperately need transplants is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine.

“Organ Donation Week will help us to spread the message even further about just what is possible when a person joins the NHS Organ Donation Register.

“It takes less than two minutes to sign up and has the potential to transform the lives of up to seven people and help restore the sight of two people.

“It’s also very important to reassure people that, if they are admitted to hospital in a critical condition, the absolute first priority of doctors is always to save their patient’s life. It is only if a patient has died or is not expected to survive that donation is considered.”

Across Scotland, there are 703 people in need of a kidney transplant. Since April, there have been 51 kidney transplants from deceased donors and 26 kidney transplants from live donors.

Anyone who would like more information or is keen to be an organ donor can sign up online at www.organdonation.nhs.uk.