Organ transplants have been performed on 151 people from Barking and Dagenham in the past decade, new figures have revealed - but there are still 39 people from the borough on the waiting list.

The statistics were revealed as NHS Blood and Transplant launched a campaign to encourage Londoners to sign up to become organ donors.

One in five people on the transplant waiting list live in the capital - but in the last decade, almost 800 Londoners have died while on the waiting list. This includes 21 people from Barking and Dagenham.

Sally Johnson, director of organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant said: “We really need everyone to discuss organ donation: make sure your family knows that you want to donate if you are ever able to.”

In the last decade, organs were donated by 33 people from Barking and Dagenham after their death. More than 31,000 of the borough’s residents are on the register.