BARMAN Filameno Cotaz, 40, had a kidney transplant in August 2014 after being diagnosed with kidney failure and high blood pressure.

Mr Cotaz, who works at the Oxford Hotel, had to start working night shifts so he could attend dialysis during the day.

He said: “A small note on a doctor’s form has made a big difference to my life.

“I’ll never be able to express how grateful I am to the person who signed onto the organ donation register and saved me.”

Mr Cotaz, who lives in Yarnton with wife Nahid and six-year-old son Kieron, said that the transplant has allowed him to spend more time with his family. He said: “Now I don’t have to waste my life going back and forth to the hospital, I can spend it enjoying time with my wife and my son and seeing him grow up. It’s a real blessing to be able to enjoy time with him that I wouldn’t have had before.”

Mr Cotaz added that he hoped he could encourage people in Oxfordshire to sign on to the organ donation register.

He said: “You never know who might need your organs in the end and you certainly won’t need them when you’re gone, so why waste them?

“All it takes is to sign a little bit of paper, that’s all, and you could save a life.”