FEWER than one in three Halton residents are signed up to the Organ Donor Register, according to new figures

A total of 75,519 people in Runcorn and Widnes are registered organ donors – accounting for 31 per cent of residents.

As of May 2017, there were 10 people in Halton on the transplant waiting list.

The figures have been revealed in a new interactive map, created by Esri UK to mark Organ Donation Week.

Anthony Clarkson, interim head of organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplants, said: “We recognise that there is a disparity in the numbers of registered donors between urban and rural areas.

“We don’t fully understand why more people in rural areas have joined the register and we welcome the debate.

“This is one of the drivers for Organ Donation Week – to get people everywhere to talk about it and to register so we can save more lives.

“People need to tell their family they want to save lives through organ donation – words saves lives.”

And Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has pledged to supporting the Organ Donation Week campaign by asking staff to speak to raise awareness.

Executive medical director Professor Simon Constable said: “We need more people in Warrington and Halton to talk about organ donation to increase the number of lifesaving transplants.

“Only one third of adults in England have told their partner or their family they want to donate, despite eight out of 10 people telling us they would be willing to donate or would consider it.

“Sadly, many opportunities are lost every year because families don’t know if their loved one wanted to be a donor or not.

“We can change things, though we need your support to get people talking.”

The five regions with the highest rates of residents being signed up to Organ Donor Register:

1. South Hams, Devon – 71 per cent

2. Malvern Hills District – 67 per cent

3. Wiltshire – 64 per cent

4. Edinburgh – 62 per cent

5. Shropshire – 61 per cent

The five regions with the lowest rates of residents being signed up to Organ Donor Register:

1. Barking and Dagenham, east London – 15.99 per cent

2. Harlow, Essex – 16.2 per cent

3. Newham, east London – 16.3 per cent

4. Leicester – 19.4 per cent

5. Luton/Redbridge, east London – 19.9 per cent