Claire Towner has been waiting for a kidney transplant for almost two years. Doctors have told her that her chances of finding a suitable kidney are remote, and her condition is slowly deteriorating as she waits for news of a donor.

Mrs Towner, 44, is a mother of three from Brightlingsea in Essex, where she used to work part-time in a school – a job that she has now had to give up because of her condition.

She is one of thousands of people waiting on a transplant list. She believes that if organ donation worked on an opt-out basis, rather than opt-in, the extra organs available could save the lives of people like her.

Mrs Towner had total kidney failure diagnosed more than two years ago. She then had to attend the Colchester Renal Unit for dialysis three times every week. Each session takes around four hours She said: “Renal failure has not just taken my health; it can take my life if I let it . . . I’m very scared. I’m scared every time I go up to the unit, so much so that I need to calm myself down. Obviously I worry for myself.”

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