A Shropshire mum, who lost her young son as he was waiting for a heart transplant, today urged families to sign up to the donor register.

Karen Prior, of Shrewsbury, wants to prevent other parents from experiencing the heartache she faced when her son Lewis, two, died.

A donor heart could not be found to give him the life-saving transplant he needed and he died in 2004.

DVDs, the latest computer games, clothes are some of the things topping most people’s Christmas wish lists but for many families they would trade them all for the chance to save a loved one.

Grandmother Mrs Prior, who lives with her husband Colin, in Judith Butts Gardens, Monkmoor, said Christmas was still a difficult time for the family.

“Lewis would be eight now and I find myself looking at all the toys when I am Christmas shopping thinking, Lewis would have loved that and I would have bought that toy for him.

“I keep going for the other children and for my grandchildren.”

“I feel like Lewis was let down as there just isn’t enough awareness.

“He could still be with us to enjoy this Christmas if someone had heard about organ donation and said yes when he so desperately needed his new heart.”

Mrs Prior is taking the opportunity of Christmas this year to back the national Give the Gift of Life This Christmas campaign, led by the organ donation awareness charity, Live Life Then Give Life, to try and urge people to think about organ donation and sign the donor register.

Following his birth Lewis was diagnosed with the condition hypo-plastic left heart syndrome, which caused the whole left side of his heart to be underdeveloped.

He was later placed on the super urgent list for a transplant but, sadly died after waiting for six weeks for the gift of life that never came.

Emily Thackray, chairman of the charity, said: “Karen is an amazing woman. Despite her grief and heartache, she works hard to support Live Life Then Give Life and help us spread the word about organ donation to help raise awareness of the 10,000 people waiting for transplants in the UK, 1,000 of whom die each year waiting.”

To sign the organ donor register online visit 7 or call 0300 123 23 23.