In a race against time to save her daughter’s life, a desperate Totnes mum has launched a petition in a bid to stop families from overruling the wishes of organ donors.

Currently, England’s Opt Out system says all adults are considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate.

But it still allows grieving families to have the final say..

This happens in some 40 per cent of per cent of cases, depriving thousands of people of life saving transplants, including Cathy Meredith’s daughter, Sarah, who suffers from the fatal genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and is in dire need of a liver transplant.

Cathy, of Maudlin Road, fears time is running out for 28-year-old Sarah, and that her chances of receiving a transplant are slim due to the “flawed” opt out system, which was introduced in 2020, and lack of available organs.

Cathy is urging as many people as possible to sign the organ donor register and to tell their families they have done so.

And she has launched a Government petition calling for all UK adults to be asked on Government forms about their organ donation decision and whether they agree their families can overrule that decision after death.

Cathy says the right of donation should lie with the donor, not their relatives – many of who block the decision to donate.

She said: “Although the NHS constantly says about organ donation “It’s your decision,” at the end of the day it’s the relatives’ decision that counts.

“My petition aims to give donors the right not to be overruled by their families after death.

“Many, many families stop donation going ahead if they don’t know their loved one’s decision.

“Even people on the Organ Donor Register can, and do, have their decision overturned.

“This happens in around 40 per cent of cases so that the donor organs are wasted - against the deceased persons wishes.”

Cathy added: “The UK is lagging behind many EU countries, with a donation rate under half that of Spain.

“Thousands of children and adults in the UK die due to lack of donor organs.

“Despite the Opt Out system, it’s vital to join the NHS Organ Donor Register and talk to your family.

“Anyone can need a transplant. It could be you, or a loved one.”

To be considered for debate in Parliament, Cathy must gain 100,000 signatures before the deadline of May 25 2022.

She said: “It’s a government petition so I was hoping to get to 100,000 signatures, but to do that you need 560 signatures a day which is very difficult indeed.

“This is why so few of them actually reach debate.

“Over all the years there have only been 107 petitions which have reached debate.

“There have been about 35,000 petitions in total, so it’s a very small proportion.”

To sign Cathy’s petition visit https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/601067

To sign up to the organ donor register visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk