Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall was due to have raised a Westminster debate about organ donation on Wednesday (February 23) in a bid to help a local mum who is fighting to save her daughter’s life.

Cathy Meredith fears time is running out for her 28-year-old daughter, Sarah, who is seriously ill with the fatal genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and is in dire need of a liver transplant.

Spain is leading the world in deceased organ donation and Cathy is hoping the UK will adopt the same model, which she believes will greatly increase Sarah’s chance of receiving the vital transplant she needs.

Spain runs an ‘opt out’ donation system similar to the one run in UK, but with a marked difference - the activity of Spain’s National Transplant Organisation (ONT), which sets out a series of measures aimed at encouraging organ donation.

Within a decade of the ONT’s creation by the Health Ministry in 1989 it more than doubled the number of organ donations in Spain.

The ONT relies on the designation of professionals (mostly intensive care doctors) to make donation happen when a patient dies in conditions that allow organ donation.

The Spanish model also makes it a priority to identify donation opportunities not only in intensive care units, but also in emergency departments and hospital wards.

Cathy, of Maudlin Road, says Sarah’s chances of receiving a liver transplant are slim due to the lack of organs available, but believes if she lived in Spain her daughter would have received one by now.

Cathy hailed the UK’s Opt Out system seriously flawed and is urging MP’s to adopt the Spanish system instead.

She said: “Spain’s Opt Out system didn’t work for 10 years until they changed their infrastructure, and it’s not going to work here either.

“Worryingly people in the UK now think that they are automatically donors by not opting out, so don’t sign the organ donor register.

“Without knowing the donor’s decision on organ donation, around 50 per cent of  families block donation at consent. 

“The Spanish system is so much better than ours because anybody who needs a transplant, whatever their age, gets one in a very short space of time.

“They have been world leaders for 28 years. Other countries that have invited the Spanish in to set up their systems have seen huge improvements. 

“We have a watered down version of the Spanish system. If we want a world beating system we should build on the Spanish system.”

Cathy says the Spanish system saves the country millions of dollars a year because it saves on expensive medical costs, such as dialysis for those on transplant lists, and carers for the seriously ill.

Mr Mangnall whose debate ‘Organ Donation and Transplant Strategy’ was due to have taken place at Westminster Hall yesterday afternoon, said: “Organ donation is hugely important and has the potential to save thousands of lives each year in the UK.

“The service provided by NHSBT (NHS Blood and Transplant) is outstanding, but there is more we can do to encourage more people donate their organs after death and also to improve outcomes for those on the transplant list.

“Having met many times with Sarah Meredith’s family over the past year, I have learnt a huge amount about this vital service and the ways we might be able to save more lives, from expanding public information campaigns to improving infrastructure.

“I hope the forthcoming debate will raise awareness of organ donation and bring about some positive changes to improve the system.”

To sign up to the organ donor register visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk