A GWENT mother who donated one of her kidneys to her daughter is supporting proposed changes to the organ donation procedure.

Kathryn Fleet, 42, donated her kidney to her daughter Kirsty Fleet, 19, in December after Miss Fleet suffered kidney failure in April.

Mrs Fleet, who was an organ donor prior to donating her kidney, said she thinks the system of presumed consent would help the thousands of people waiting for a transplant each year.

Miss Fleet's father Mark, 47, sister Jodie, 21, and brother Joel, 18, all offered to donate their organs and were all matches, but medics chose Mrs Fleet to be the donor.

Prior to the operation, Miss Fleet had been undergoing dialysis three times a week.

The Tredegar pair underwent surgery at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff on December 17 and were the 100th transplant performed at the hospital last year.

Mrs Fleet said she supports the proposed opt out system to help reduce waiting lists and provide people with much needed organs.

"I agree with it because it's such a long waiting list, it's ridiculous. It would be very beneficial to all the people who are ill, they could be put to good use," she said.

Under the current system, people have to join the NHS organ donor register to be eligible to donate organs after their death.

If the 'opt out' system was introduced, the idea of presumed consent would be introduced and every person would be considered a donor unless they had registered their objections.

There are currently more than 8,000 people in the UK waiting for an organ transplant, a figure which rises by around eight per cent a year.