PARALYMPIAN Gareth Duke knows first hand why it is vital that more people join the organ donation register.

The double medal-winning swimmer is facing an agonising wait for a new kidney after his body rejected the one donated by his father.

A new kidney would give him a new lease of life, and could mean all the difference in his bid for gold at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Cwmbran's Mr Duke, 22, who won gold in Athens and silver in Beijing said the experience has highlighted the importance of people signing up to the organ donor register.

Mr Duke, of Maendy Way, Pontnewydd, has to endure four-hour dialysis sessions three times a week at home while he waits for a suitable kidney.

He said being on dialysis has "taken half of my life away," but is remaining positive and keeping his eyes set on being in top condition for the 2012 Paralympics in London.

The wait is uncertain as Mr Duke does not know if or when a match will be found. It could be months or even years away.

The Argus reported previously how Mr Duke's father, Trevor Myers, donated a kidney in 2006 after his son's failed because of kidney disease.

Now the 100m breaststroke swimmers says being on dialysis means he is easily exhausted and cannot train to his usual level.

"I've started to feel tired and really down, I can only run 100 yards before I get tired and have to rest. I'm trying to train really hard, but it affects my training," he said.

Mr Duke has been on the organ donor waiting list for around a month. Because of tubes in his chest due to his current treatment, he cannot currently swim as water would get into his body, but he is hoping to be back in the pool by around Christmas and says he "can't wait."

Mr Duke said it would mean "a lot" to get a new kidney and he is keeping his fingers crossed.

He said his whole family were disappointed when his body rejected his father's kidney, as he was the only suitable donor in the family.

The kidney transplant waiting list has risen by more than 50 percent in Wales over the last six years and passed 500 for the first time in August.

Last year, 89 kidney transplants took place in Wales.

But Mr Duke is still hopeful.

He said: "I'm never negative, you've always got to be positive. Hopefully by 2012 I should have a new kidney. I want to be in London so I can get my gold back."

Call for more Welsh organ donors

There are currently 501 people in Wales who need organ transplants. Of these, 440 are awaiting new kidneys.

The average waiting time for a donor is two and a half years and 150 people have died waiting in the last five years.

The Donate Wales register currently has over 801,000 people signed up to it. But this figure should be much higher, according to Kidney Wales Foundation communications and events manager Noel Davies.

He said: "We have found that 90 per cent of Welsh people support organ donation yet only around 27 per cent have signed up.

"There is a desperate shortage of donors and people are having to wait a long time while others are sadly dying."

To donate your organs, visit www.donatewales.org or call 08456060400.