A woman whose sister had a double lung transplant at the age of 20, appeared on TV on Sunday to appeal for more organ donors.

Abby Thackery, 21, from West Ewell, is running a campaign with Hope Milne, 15, from Croydon, after both had siblings who underwent organ transplants to save their lives.

Backed by X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, whose mother is waiting for a kidney transplant, the girls appeared in an episode of Battlefront, a series highlighting young campaigners on Channel 4.

Abby, who attended Epsom and Ewell High School and now studies at Bath Spa University, said: "I’m running this campaign because my sister Emily, who is now 27, was born with cystic fibrosis and needed a double lung transplant.

"She waited two years and nearly died whilst waiting but finally got her transplant in January 2007.

"Hope and I have both known lots of people who have died whilst waiting, or who are still waiting.

"We wanted to do something to change this and help make sure people get their transplants."

Abby’s sister set up a charity, Live Life then Give Life, campaigning for organ donation while she was waiting for her transplant and Abby was keen to build on her sister’s success by raising awareness of organ donation.

She said: "I have seen that transplants don’t just save peoples’ lives, they transform them.

"Before her transplant Emily was tiny and frail, in a wheelchair and on 24-hour oxygen.

"Since then she has got married, become a music teacher and an auntie and is more fit and healthy than we could ever have imagined pre-transplant."

"I generally find that people are very interested and open to the idea of organ donation, they just haven’t thought about it before or don’t really understand it.

"I want to get thousands more people on the register and really spread the message about organ donation."

For more information on becoming an organ donor visit uktransplant.org.uk, lltgl.org.uk, or battlefront.co.uk