'Live donors' urged to give organs to cut waiting times
- Published
People have been urged to donate organs while they are still alive to help people waiting on transplant lists.
Donna Turner-Kot from Maesteg, Bridgend county, gave a kidney to her father and said risks were "no greater than having your tonsils or appendix out".
In 2015, a system of presumed consent was introduced in Wales for the use of organs after people die.
But in 2017/18, 31 people became live donors. However, 5,000 people are waiting for a new kidney in the UK.
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said donating could "transform lives", adding: "Often, living donors are close relatives or friends but you can still donate an organ to someone you do not know."
Part of a liver, a segment of a lung and part of the small bowel can also be given to someone else.
Donna Turner-Kot donated to her father in 2011 after he suffered kidney failure.
"People say it's a huge decision, but anyone in my situation would have done the same," she told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme.
Ms Turner-Kot described her father being on home dialysis four times a day, and said the decision was based on "giving him back a quality of life".
She added: "The risks are minimal and you get a thorough annual check-up every year. I've been fine ever since."
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