A TRIPLE kidney transplant patient is today urging more people to sign up to save lives.

Brian Wilson's life has been saved three times in the past 30 years by the crucial transplants.

Now the 41-year-old Darrener wants more donors to give people like him a real chance of survival.

Brian, of Hilton Road, said: "It's so important for people to carry donor cards and for them to have their names on the register but not enough people do it. It saved my life and it could save someone else's."

Brian underwent his first transplant in 1976 when doctors discovered both his kidneys were failing. After six years, the organ failed and another transplant was carried out a year later.

The second kidney lasted until 1995, when Brian had to wait an agonising eight years before his third transplant in April this year.

Mum Edna, 82, of Birch Hall Avenue, said: "He's been so brave and I'm so proud of him because he's been through some tough times. His body has accepted the kidney and he's doing really well so far. Now he can get on with his life.

"He came close to death in 1998 when he was suffering from fluid retention, so we hope he never has to go through anything like that again. More donors could save the lives of many more people and it's the most precious gift anyone can offer."

There are currently more than 5,600 people in the UK waiting for an organ transplant, around 5,000 of whom are waiting for kidneys. Around 16 per cent of the population in the North West are registered donors, falling two per cent short of the national average.

Maxine Walter, spokesperson for NHS Transplant UK, based in Bristol, said: "We are trying to boost the number of donors and it's thanks to the generosity of people that people like Brian can have a chance of a good life. We need more donors to match the number of people waiting for transplants."

There were 2,777 transplants across the UK last year and 1,164 registered donors. The organisation is looking to have 16 million people registered by 2010. There are currently ten million on the register.

For more information or to register, contact 0845 6060400 or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk.