Overview

• Six-month-old Rory Fletcher has dilated cardiomyopathy and remains in intensive care at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital on a mechanical heart pump while awaiting a suitably sized heart.
• Her parents, Becks and Toby from Knutsford, issued a public appeal for a baby-sized donor and spoke of hopes for their daughter to begin a normal life after a transplant.
• NHS Blood and Transplant reports around 8,000 people are waiting for transplants in the UK, with a 2% decline in deceased donors over the past year.
• Over the last decade, more than 12,000 people died or were removed from waiting lists before receiving organs, while more than 44,000 transplants saved or improved lives.
• NHSBT says 173 families overruled registered donors last year and 520 did not support donation under presumed consent, as Organ Donation Week prompts calls to record decisions.