Families in Surrey and West Sussex are being urged by the NHS to talk about organ donation as Organ Donation Week is launched today.  

New figures show the number of people in the area who have died while waiting for a transplant. NHS Blood and Transplant has announced that 29 people in Surrey and 35 people from West Sussex have died waiting for a transplant in the last five years.  Last year 63 people in Surrey and 70 people in West Sussex had their lives saved by a transplant. More detailed local figures show that in the Reigate and Banstead area five or fewer people have died while waiting in the past five years and seven people from the borough have received a transplant in the last year.  

The NHS is urging families to let each other know if they want to be donors.