HEATHER James is one of the lucky ones.

She was among only 1,282 people who last year received a double organ transplant that saved their life.

The 55-year old says she will always be grateful and thankful to her donor and their family for their generosity.

The former Brighton and Hove city councillor is telling her story in a bid to encourage more people to sign up to the organ donor register.

It recently emerged the number of people donating their organs had fallen for the first time in more than decade.

Ms James, who lives in Hove, was diagnosed with diabetes as a child and as an adult developed serious kidney problems.

Her mother donated one of her kidneys in 1992 and it worked well for some time but in recent years it began to fail.

Doctors also told Ms James she would need a new pancreas to help her control her diabetes.

Ms James was on the transplant list for a year before her operation and during that time her condition continued to deteriorate.

She said: “I got married last year but no-one would guess from the pictures just how ill I was feeling.

“I was suffering from kidney failure and that morning I had been violently sick, a regular occurrence, and was barely able to eat or stand up.

“It was only the thought of marrying the love of my life that got me through the day.”

Ms James’ husband underwent tests to see if he could donate one of his kidneys to help her but doctors said a double transplant was her best option.

Fortunately less than three months later she received the call that would save her life.

The operation took eight-and-a-half hours and Ms James has never looked back.

She said: “The expertise, dedication, care and support of my medical team has been faultless and continues to be so.

“I am feeling so much better now and so full of energy. Before my operation I did not even have the strength to talk for long.

“It is only when I look back I realise just how ill I was.

“I’m feeling fitter and stronger and for the first time, thanks to my new pancreas, I no longer need to inject myself with insulin to control my diabetes.”