From the Heart campaign

4:12 pm, Tue 19 Feb 2013 National

147,000 join Organ Donor Register after ITV campaign

During ITV's From The Heart week to raise awareness for organ donation, record numbers of people applied to join the NHS Organ Donation Register.

On Feb 13th, when an ITV special programme on organ donation was broadcast, a record 48,000 applied online to join the register, with nearly 147,000 throughout the week.

You can sign up to the Organ Donor Register here.

An NHS organ donor card Credit: Clive Gee/PA Wire

Sally Johnson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant said:

"We could not have foreseen the unprecedented numbers of people who responded to the call to join the Organ Donor Register.

"So to each and every person who is now on the Register and crucially, has told their family, thank you."

4:59 pm, Fri 15 Feb 2013 National

Organ Donor Register boosted by 120,000 this week

Since the launch of the From the Heart campaign on Monday 120,000 people have signed up to the donor registry.

You can find out more and sign up here.

Thousands sign up for donor register

So far 33,000 people have signed up to the organ donor register since the start of ITV's From the Heart Campaign on Monday. A remarkable result, and we haven't finished yet!

7:35 pm, Wed 13 Feb 2013

From the Heart: The importance of saying 'yes'

As part of ITV's From the Heart campaign, we have been talking about the shortage of donors.

Only a small proportion of deaths each year are in circumstances where organs can be taken, and the donation in those circumstances could save lives.

However, when families haven't talked about organ donation beforehand, the decision can be much harder for those left behind.

Watch tonight's full report from Lucy Taylor below.

To find out more about how you can help and where to sign up for the organ donor's register, click here.

5:42 pm, Wed 13 Feb 2013

From the Heart campaign: Ian's story

Ian Richardson lost his wife Joanne and daughter Mya when their car crashed on the A1.

Five other children were saved through organ transplants from Ian's daughter Mya - a decision that he describes as the most impossible decision any parent will ever have to face.

5:06 pm, Wed 13 Feb 2013

40% of families say no to donating organs

As part of ITV's From the Heart campaign, ITV Tyne Tees is looking at the issue of organ donation - and how to increase the number of donors.

NHS research conducted in Newcastle shows families asked whether they will donate a relative's organs shortly after their death say no 40% of the time. Even among those who have signed the organ donor register, expressing a wish to donate, one in ten families says no.

Full Report: From the Heart campaign launches

As part of ITV's From the Heart campaign we are looking at organ donation this week.

More than two hundred transplants have been carried out on people from our region in the last year, but hundreds more people are still on the waiting list.

For those lucky enough to find a match in time, the operation doesn't just save lives, it can change them completely.

Watch the full report from Lucy Taylor below.