MORE than 90 people in North Yorkshire are facing Christmas on the waiting list for an organ transplant, the latest figures show.

The 93 people in the county are among 6,186 patients awaiting a life-saving gift in the UK, and 185 of them are children, according to figures from NHS Blood and Transplant.

Families in North Yorkshire are being urged to share their organ donation decision this festive season, so that their loved ones know what they want when they die and more patients can receive the transplants they need.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Christmas is an incredibly busy time of year, however away from the rush and bustle of preparing for the holiday it should also be a time for family and thinking of others.

“We are urging everyone in North Yorkshire to take a moment to think about the people who will spend their Christmas hoping for just one thing; a life saving organ transplant. Would you like to help if you could? If you needed a transplant, would you want someone to donate to you?

“Please let your family know what your organ donation decision is so that we can save more lives.”

From spring 2020 in England and Autumn 2020 in Scotland, the law around organ donation is changing. All adults in North Yorkshire will be considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they record a decision not to donate, known as ‘opt out’, or are in one of groups not covered by the new organ donation law.