A WOMAN who has waited years for a transplant has hailed Theresa May’s intention to change the law on organ donation.

During her speech at the Conservative Party conference last week the Prime Minister suggested there could be a move to an opt-out system.

Vicki Luker, from Wantage, said the announcement couldn’t come soon enough as she has been on the transplant list since 2011 waiting for a new pancreas, which could change her life by stabilising her diabetes.

The 40-year-old has brittle diabetes, a particularly hard-to-control type one diabetes which causes her blood sugar to rise and drop at rapid rates.

The mum-of-one said: “If you are prepared to receive an organ donation then you should also be prepared to give one.

“I have previously written to my MP Ed Vaizey on the issue of presumed consent and all I received was a formal response.

“This is great news if it means more lives will be saved because of it.”

Earlier this year NHS Blood and Transplant revealed 48 people in Oxfordshire died waiting for an organ transplant over the past 10 years. There are 59 people on the waiting list in the county.

Mrs Luker added: “I no longer live my life as if I’m waiting for the call to tell me they have got a match.

“I carry on anyway because I have to make the most of every single day.

“I love all the voluntary work I do but I cannot begin to tell you how much it would mean to me and my family if I were to have that transplant.”

Under current rules in England and Northern Ireland people must sign up stating that they are happy for their organs to be donated after they die.

An opt-in system, which exists in Wales and will soon be introduced in Scotland, presumes everyone has given their consent unless they actively opt-out.

Rory Collier, a specialist nurse at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, hopes the move will open up conversations about end of life between families and friends.

He said: “When I speak to families after their loved ones have passed away I often find that even though they may be on the register, the family will not be prepared to have their organs donated because they never discussed the topic with them.

“So we need to be having these conversations and hopefully by having this new system that will bring them more into the forefront."

The move was also welcomed by 75-year old Jill Edwards from Carterton, who received a new heart 27 years ago.

She said: “It is something so special and I cannot being to thank the donor and their family for what they have done for me.

“I don’t think it can come a minute sooner. I’ve known very young people to have died waiting for a donation.”