The NHS and Daily Echo have teamed up to urge 2,000 people to sign up as orgon donors

But sadly the number of people willing to donate their organs has fallen for the first time in a decade.

This is despite hundreds of seriously ill patients just in Hampshire alone desperately awaiting a heart transplant.

So the Daily Echo has vowed to take action and get more people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register to pass on priceless parts of their body when they die and prevent the unnecessary deaths of thousands.

Every day in the UK three people die in need of a transplant.

Today, as National Transplant Week kicks off, the paper has joined forces with NHS Blood and Transplant to launch our Seven Weeks To Say I Donate campaign in a bid to get 2,000 people to make the life-saving promise.

But signing the register is not enough - it is vital to share your decision with family and friends to spare loved ones the difficult burden of making such an emotional decision should the worst happen.

This is a key aim of National Transplant Week, which is urging the nation to get talking about organ donation and the importance of sharing this decision.

Currently in Hampshire there are 260 seriously ill people desperately waiting for a heart transplant and countless more waiting for other vital organs, such as kidneys, lungs and livers.

Last year 85 people from across the county were lucky enough to have their lives saved or transformed thanks to someone and their families agreeing to pass on their organs to save the lives of others.

But worryingly last year also saw the number of people donating organs in the country fall for the first time in 11 years.

As of last month there are 655,269 people across Hampshire were registered on the Organ Donor Register yet their families can still veto this life-saving chance.

So as part of our campaign, the Daily Echo wants to get more people prepared to donate vital organs and tissue which could give someone a second chance, to share their decision with their loved ones.

Anthony Clarkson, NHS Blood and Transplant’s assistant director for organ donation and nursing, said: “Every day three people die in need of a transplant. Yet across the UK 1 in 3 adults haven’t considered organ donation or decided whether they want to be an organ donor.

“To save more lives we need more donors. To raise that number we really need everyone to understand the importance of not being complacent. We need to get to the point where organ donation is high on the list of important personal conversations we routinely have with loved ones.”

A survey for the National Transplant Week survey found that people avoid difficult conversations which could mean the difference between life and death for someone in need of an organ transplant.

While seven in 10 adults have told a loved one how they would spend a lottery win, only one third have spoken to their family about their wishes for donating their body after they’ve died.

The UK also has one of the lowest rates in Europe for families consenting to organ donation and in 2014/15 only 58 per cent agreed to donate their family members’ organs after they died.

Even among those who want to be organ donors, there is reluctance to talk about the subject - with key reasons being discomfort around talking about death and not wanting to upset family members.

Reluctance to talk about organ donation means many healthy organs that could be donated aren’t used.

Mr Clarkson added: “As a nation we’re happy sharing dreams of big money wins and bucket-list holidays, and we’ll confide in our loved ones our worries about how we look. Yet too many of us are still not making the time or are not comfortable talking about organ donation.

“Telling your loved ones you want to be an organ donor means your family will be in no doubt about your decision meaning your wishes will be fulfilled should you die in circumstances where organ donation is possible.

“We’d like everyone to give a few minutes of their time to think about organ donation and talk about whether they want to be an organ donor with their relatives or a close friend.”

To sign up and help us hit our target visit www.organdonation.nhs.ukto find out more information.

• THE LIVES of four people have been dramatically changed by the selfless act of one Southampton man and his family.

Claire Mercier with mum Pauline Holmes and brother Russell

Ford worker Russell Holmes was only 26 when he collapsed suddenly at his home after suffering a massive brain haemorrhage.

But while his heartbroken family were left devastated, they made the life-saving decision to honour Russell's wishes and donate his organs so that others could live on.

Abigail Richardson from Cornwall was one of those who benefitted from that decision, receiving part of his liver when she was a teenager.

Russell’s mother Pauline said: “That girl would have died if she hadn’t had Russell’s liver. I know that you can’t put a price on that.”

Now Pauline and her family are backing the Daily Echo campaign and National Transplant Week.

The 62-year old added: “If Russell needed an organ I would like to have felt that there was an organ waiting for him.”

Russell’s sister, Claire, now 31, hadn’t been a donor before her brother died but having seen how lives can be transform by taking that decision, she immediately signed up.

She said: “It was a no-brainer, to see the outcome and the benefits it had for other people. People don’t want to talk about death but it’s going to happen to us all on one form or another. It’s having the time to sit down and think about it.”

Since Abigail's operation Russell’s mum Pauline and her family have become firm friends.

Pauline has also kept in touch with other recipients but the connection between Russell and Abigail’s family has been so strong that Claire chose Abigail to be her bridesmaid on her wedding day, pictured below.

“It felt like part of him was at the wedding", Pauline added. “The empty seat was filled with Abigail and her family.”

Later this month Russell is being posthumously honoured for his selfless act.

Pauline will collect the Order of St John at Winchester Guildhall on Russell’s behalf after he agreed to be a donor.