> Information is stored on the national Organ Donor Register and can be amended at any time.

> If a person should die, a transplant co-ordinator based in each primary care trust will approach the family to ask if they would be happy for their relative’s organs to be donated. No organs will be taken without the family’s consent.

> If the transplant co-ordinator gets the go-ahead, he or she will then see the deceased and decide whether their organs are suitable for donation, based on their age and medical history.

> If the organs are suitable for transplant, the co-ordinator will ring transplant teams across the UK to see if they need them.

> A team of highly skilled surgeons will carefully remove the organ or organs for transplant so as not to damage them and keep the body intact.

> The transplant co-ordinator from the hospital that needs the organs will come and collect them. They will work quickly and aim to get the organ to the patient who needs it within hours.

- The body is then returned to the mortuary where the family can visit if they want.

- If the family of the deceased wants to know who received their relative’s organs, the transplant co-ordinator is able to give out basic details.