February 21, 2001 9:10: A CRITICALLY ill man waiting for a lung transplant has launched a campaign to encourage more people to carry organ donor cards.

Ken Humphrey, 64, of Frieth Road, Marlow, is suffering from a serious lung condition known as fibrosing alveolitis and has been told by doctors that he may have only six months to live if he does not receive the transplant.

Mr Humphrey, a non-smoker, said he has been shocked by how few people seem to carry the cards, since being put on a list of those waiting for transplants at a Birmingham hospital earlier this year.

He said: "We want to get more people interested in the fact that so much good can come from donating bits and pieces of your body that you do not need anymore."

When Mr Humphrey's son was killed in a road accident 18 years ago, he and his wife agreed to have some of his organs used for transplant patients.

He has vowed to write to newspapers highlighting the benefits of organ donation and has launched a sustained letter writing campaign to his friends encouraging them to pass the message on.

He added: "I have been very surprised when I ask my friends if they carry a card to find out that so many do not.

"When we die most of the body is buried or destroyed, so why don't more people carry cards? It's not until we know or see someone who needs a donor, and are affected personally, that we think of this."

Mr Humphrey, who believes his lung condition may have been caused by working in the construction business, has urged people to go to their doctor's surgery where the cards are freely available.

He rates his own chances of finding a donor as fairly good, as all organs must come from someone with the same blood type and of roughly the same build.

He added: "I'm not doing this for myself. There are so many people who need to be helped."

Matthew Harris