UNIVERSITY of Winchester graduate Hannah Cochrane, 21, is desperately waiting for a new heart - and now she has joined Southampton doctors in backing NHS Blood and Transplant’s (NHSBT) Christmas List campaign.

The campaign is calling for people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register and help the thousands of people in the UK currently needing a life-saving transplant.

It comes as new figures reveal that 12 people in Hampshire have died while waiting on the transplant list this year.

But another 103 have lived thanks to families agreeing to donate a loved one’s organs after their death but hundreds more are still waiting.

Hannah has had to use an artificial heart pump to stay alive since she was rushed to intensive care during her second year of her sociology degree.

She was diagnosed with a dilated cardiomyopathy after investigations revealed her heart was badly damaged and three times the size it should have been.

Hannah, from Southsea, said: “Christmas is a time for family and friends full of joy, it is a celebration of life. Without organ donation, me and many other people may not get the chance to see any more Christ-mases, fulfil anymore dreams and most of all, just enjoy living.”

Nicky Matthews, an NHSBT specialist nurse in organ donation at Southampton General Hospital is also backing the campaign.

She said: “Organ donors save or improve the quality of life of seriously ill patients. For many patients a transplant is the only option left and their life depends on families agreeing to donate.

“I urge people in Hampshire to join the NHS Organ Donor Register and to tell those closest to them their decision. I know that many families find it easier to support donation when they know their loved one wanted to be an organ donor.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register call 0300 1232323 text SAVE to 62323 or visit organdonation.nhs.uk.