Hundreds of sick and dying people around the county have been given the gift of life by patients who ended their days at Sussex hospitals.

The final wishes of more than 50 patients at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust to donate organs and tissues were fulfilled over the last year.

The choice to make a donation has resulted in saving and enhancing scores of lives.

They included a seven-year-old girl and a 32-year-old lady who received heart transplants, two adults who received lung transplants and ten adults and two children who received liver transplants.

Two teenagers and 14 adults have received kidney transplants while four adults received combined kidney and pancreas transplants.

One lady received a small bowel transplant which allowed her to eat for the first time in 15 years and three children had heart valve transplants.

Almost 50 people were given corneal transplants and around 200 more people have had their lives enhanced through donations of skin, bone and tendons.

Trust senior nurse for organ donation, Tracey Gibson, said: “This is obviously a very difficult time for patients and their relatives which makes the decision to donate even more special.

“More than a third of the population of Brighton and Hove have signed the organ donor register and have informed their relatives of their intentions and I would urge more people to do the same.

“It is easier for relatives to make the decision to agree to donate organs if they know it was what their loved one wanted.

“Knowing that their relative has helped save the life of someone else can be a comfort and a way of achieving something positive out of a difficult situation.”

Trust chief executive Duncan Selbie said: “Successful transplants combine the generosity of the donors and their families, the skilful communication of the NHS staff whose role it is to talk to patients and bereaved relatives about organ and tissue donation, often at times of profound sadness and distress, and the surgical expertise of those who perform them.

“When all three come together the results are truly miraculous.”

To sign up to the organ donor register, visit, www.uktransplant.org.uk or call 0300 123 2323.