A TOP transplant surgeon has backed the Oxford Mail organ donation campaign saying more donors are needed than ever before.

Doctors around the world can now save organs that would otherwise be wasted thanks to the “world-leading” work of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust’s Dr Rutger Ploeg and his team.

But he warned such technological advancements meant more people than ever before are now waiting for life-saving organs.

He said this was why he was backing the campaign urging more people to sign up to be a donor.

Dr Ploeg said: “I’m very excited about the Oxford Mail campaign and the way it is going about changing people’s lives and I would urge people to give the greatest gift it’s possible to give: life.

“The city is currently at the very centre of saving people’s lives across the country. One of Oxford’s projects, QUOD, allows us to investigate the quality of organs that are provided for transplant at the time of donation.

“This is important because it means that we can work out exactly what constitutes a prime organ and, more importantly, how we can save or improve organs that are not in the ideal condition.”

According to Dr Ploeg, the demand for organ donation is constantly increasing due to the medical advancements made by his team and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

He said: “Our studies mean that more people are eligible for transplantation – which is fantastic – but it means the national waiting list grows longer and longer every day.”

Thirty years ago, 70 per cent of organ donations came from traffic accidents but now only 20 or 30 per cent do because of national improvements to road safety.

Dr Ploeg said the majority of organs now come from patients who have suffered a cerebral haemorrhage – internal bleeding and a lack of oxygen to the brain.

He added: “It’s frustrating that few people talk about organ donation and that it’s a topic left until a situation such as this, where someone is dead or dying.”

As a result, there are up to 80 people waiting on the organ donation waiting list in Oxfordshire, according to NHSBT.

Dr Ploeg said the organ currently in highest demand in the county was the kidney and that the average person in need of one waits from four to eight years.

A liver transplant at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital 18 years ago made the world of difference to Cathy Falcus, 41, from Grove, who has since brought up her five-year-old son Bayley.

The administrator at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell said: “When I had my transplant 18 years ago, none of the technology was available and, as a result, lots of people lost their lives, so this development really is life-saving.”

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: “My kidney was transplanted within 24 hours of going into a critical condition and if the people in Oxford weren’t working so hard to make sure that was possible, I certainly wouldn’t be here today.”