A COUPLE who said they did not think twice about allowing their son's organs to be used to save others after his death are backing a campaign to increase the number of transplants.

David and Anthea Traher were at the UK Transplant stand at the annual NHS Confederation conference in Harrogate yesterday to support the organisation's life-saving work.

Philip Traher died in 1996 at the age of 13, after a road accident near his home in Harrogate.

Mr Traher said: "Philip was very precious to us and it has given us some comfort to know that our tragedy has given life to six other people."

The Trahers were joined by Caroline and John Fowler, from York, whose two-year-old daughter Aimee had a successful liver transplant in January last year.

UK Transplant has been given the task of increasing the number of life-saving transplants that take place every year.

While about 2,800 organs are transplanted each year there are more than 5,500 people waiting for a transplant operation.

This situation means that many people will die before an organ becomes available - and many die without even getting on to the waiting list.

To highlight the terrible waste of potentially life-saving tissue, UK Transplant has placed the message Organ Donation - Why Let A Precious Life Go To Waste on every waste paper bin in the conference centre.

"Families have told us that being able to donate was helpful rather than harmful and that they have been able to gain some comfort by the knowledge that their tragedy has enabled others to live," said Sue Sutherland, chief executive of UK Transplant