A NEW Be a Hero campaign has been launched to encourage more Ryedale residents to sign the donor register.

The campaign aims to create a unique club of Yorkshire heroes from across the region with a new emblem highlighting that you don’t have to be a superhero to save a life.

For those involved in organ donation, a hero can come in many forms. It might be the donor who saved a life, the family that consented to it, the specialist nurse who accompanied the family of a donor through the organ donation process, or the surgeon who transplanted the new organ.

Dr Simon Flood, one of the clinical leads for organ donation at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which launched the campaign, said: "Last year, just over 100 people in Yorkshire donated an organ after their death. Together these amazing individuals provided 294 lifesaving transplants.

"Sadly, there are still nearly 800 people in Yorkshire waiting for a transplant. Just one organ donor can transform the lives of up to nine people and if more families felt sure of their loved one’s wishes to be a donor, more lives could be saved.

“I hope our Be a Hero campaign will inspire families to have a discussion about their wishes around organ donation. It would be fantastic if the generosity of Yorkshire people meant that in Yorkshire, those who need a transplant get one in time. We could all be that hero and we could all find ourselves in the position of needing a hero."

The campaign hopes to gain support from a range of high profile regional and national personalities who will share stories of their everyday heroes. Real life stories from the people who've experienced organ donation issues first hand will be integral to the campaign.

The Leeds Transplant Centre at LTHT has been providing complex specialist organ transplantation services for the Yorkshire and Humber region for over 25 years. It is the third largest liver transplant unit in the UK, a leading centre for ‘live related’ transplants and a regional centre for renal transplants.

You can find out more about organ donation and join the NHS Organ Donor Register at leedsth.nhs.uk/be-a-hero or by phoning 0300 1232323.