A HAMPSHIRE mum who underwent a heart transplant has backed a Daily Echo campaign to get more people onto the organ donor register.

Mum-of-two Carla Gair is looking forward to a new lease of life after she waited months for a new heart and came close to losing her fight.

Now she is backing our Seven Weeks to Say I Donate campaign in a bid to get 2,000 people to make the life-saving promise.

A part of National Transplant Week, the paper has joined forces with NHS Blood and Transplant in a bid to get more people registered.

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

Last year 85 lucky people across the county had their lives saved or transformed thanks to someone and their families agreeing to pass on their organs.

Single mum Carla’s race fight for life started when, at the age of 31, she suffered a heart attack while on a night out with friends.

Despite an implanted defibrillator to shock her heart if she had another heart attack – which it often did – she was told she would need a transplant if she was going to survive.

But in the weeks leading up to her operation her situation became more “urgent” after several opportunities were missed.

The 39-year old from Totton said: “There was one time in hospital when I was scared. I had a bad experience where the defibrillator kicked in.

“It was an extremely bad night. That’s the only night I thought: ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get my transplant in time or whether I’m going to survive this’.”

After 14 months, Carla got a new heart in December last year and is expected to make a full recovery.

She said: “Before I didn’t think I had a future or anything to work towards. Now I can plan for the future. It’s amazing.”

A donor herself since 17, she wants others to consider putting themselves on the register.

As of last month there are 355,269 people across Hampshire registered on Organ Donor Register.

Worryingly, last year saw the number of people donating organs in the country fall for the first time in 11 years.

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

Carla added: “Quite often the donor’s decisions aren’t carried through.

“It’s about having that conversation. We’re just so bad for talking about the inevitable in this country. You should talk about it. It’s not until you talk about it that your family knows how you feel.”

To sign up and help us hit our target visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk and for further information.