A NEW online driving licence application system, which asks people to consider registering as an organ donor, has been welcomed by NHS staff and transplant recipients in Oxfordshire.

The Government hopes that the initiative will drive up the number of people on the donor register.

Only 18 million people (29 per cent of the UK population) are currently on the register, although surveys indicate that 90 per cent of the population would consider donating.

Anyone applying for a licence at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency website is now asked to tick one of three boxes to answer a question about organ donation before completing their application: l Yes, I would like to register l I do not wish to answer this question l I am already registered on the NHS organ donor register.

Teressa Tymkewycz, a specialist nurse in organ donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, based at the Oxford Science Park, said: “Absolutely anything that encourages people to think about organ donation is a good thing.

“We hope to see a big increase in the number of people on the donor register.

“The old system meant people could miss or ignore a question becoming a donor but now they’re being asked to think about it, which is certainly a step forward.”

Graham Sparrowhawk was only the 10th person in Oxfordshire to receive a transplanted kidney, when he received an organ from a man who died in a motorcycle accident.

His own kidneys had been removed after they became diseased and he needed 18 hours of dialysis treatment a week to keep him alive until the transplant in 1975.

Mr Sparrowhawk, 62, who is pastor of the Baptist Church in Aston, near Bampton, said: “I’m very grateful for all the freedom the transplant gave me. It allowed me to live a relatively normal life.

“Any little nudge to bring the idea of registering as a donor to people’s awareness has got to be a good thing.”

Before the new system was launched on Monday, answering the question was optional. Now it is compulsory.

The ‘prompted choice’ system, asking all driving licence applicants to consider registering as a donor, has proved a success in the US.

In the state of Illinois, around Chicago, the percentage of people on the register rose from 38 per cent to 60 per cent as a result of the adoption of the scheme.