The family of a teenager from Banwell who died in a car accident is backing an NHS campaign to encourage people to talk to their loved ones about organ donation.

The ‘Leave them Certain’ campaign aims to highlight how distressing it can be if families do not know how their loved ones feel about organ donation. It can leave families with difficult decisions to make while grieving the loss of a loved one.

Vicki Caldwell's 17-year-old daughter, Fiona Braidwood, died from a fatal head injury after she lost control of her car on Wolvershill Road in 2016.

Fiona registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) when she was 14, after attending a talk on the subject at her school. She also informed her parents about her decision.

Vicki said: “We both remember her coming downstairs to tell us what she had done. We were so proud of her for taking the step to join the NHS ODR.

“It must be so hard for people who haven’t talked about organ donation. It’s such a surreal situation, you don’t expect yourself to be in that position having conversations about end of life wishes, the family is in distress, you are in shock and not able to think clearly. It’s an impossible situation to process any information or try to make important decisions. We are so grateful to Fi for telling us so clearly.”

A change in the law last year means all adults are seen as willing to donate their organs, unless they opt out or are in one of the excluded groups.

In Somerset, 476,170 people are currently on the NHS Organ Donor Register, with 22 people becoming donors in the last year, but the NHS needs more people to talk with their families about their decision.

Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, Anthony Clarkson, said: “Talk to your friends, talk to your family. Even though the law has changed, you can still sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register to provide your family with added reassurance. Please don’t wait. Have the conversation today.”

For more information on organ donation, and to register your decision, go to organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 1232323.