AN OTLEY-BASED company has created a new campaign to boost organ donation rates across Yorkshire.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) asked PR agency Hatch Communications to come up with a concept to raise awareness of the issue and encourage more people to become donors.

The business decided on a Be a Hero theme, and the campaign is being backed by the likes of renowned actor Sir Patrick Stewart and cricketing legend Geoffrey Boycott.

Dr Simon Flood, one of the Clinical Leads for Organ Donation at LTHT, said: "We are proud to launch the Be a Hero campaign to help discover real life heroes across Yorkshire.

"The campaign Hatch Communications developed really resonated with us, and we hope that it encourages sign-ups to the register."

There are currently 800 people on the transplant waiting list in the region, due to a lack of suitable donated organs.

Hatch Communications' Managing Director, Jason Madeley, said: "I hope our Be a Hero campaign for LTHT will inspire families to have a discussion about their wishes around organ donation.

"It would be fantastic if the generosity of Yorkshire people meant that, in Yorkshire, those who need a transplant get one in time.

"We could all be that hero - and we could all find ourselves in the position of needing a hero!"

More details about organ donation and joining the NHS Organ Donor Register can be found by visiting www.leedsth.nhs.uk/be-a-hero or calling 0300 123 23 23 .