Sir - I would like to offer my sympathy to Lori Smith who is waiting for a kidney transplant (The agonising waiting game, February 8).

I know just how she feels - six years ago I was waiting for a heart and lung transplant, hoping the call would come before it was too late.

I was one of the lucky ones and have had a successful transplant. The fact that I am still alive, healthy and back to work is thanks to the family of a 31-year-old woman who died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage, who gave their permission for her organs to be used to help not just me, but several others as well. None of us knows what our future holds, and it is possible for everyone to live their own lives, then give other people a chance of life through donating organs. It is easy to join the register visit www.uktransplant.org.uk, or phone 0845 60 60 400. It only takes a minute, and means so much to those like Lori or myself, and all the other people playing the waiting game.

Dr Diana Sanders, Oxford