A CHARITY campaigner is urging high-profile names to think twice before adding their opinion to the debate over changing Wales's organ donation system.

Glynneath grandmother Helena Jones, who has dedicated her life to fighting kidney disease after four out of her five children needed a transplant, said people should only speak out on the proposal to shake-up the system in Wales if they had the experience to do so.

The Welsh Government is looking to roll-out a policy of "presumed consent" on organ donation in a drive to increase the number of donors coming forward.

Mrs Jones, 78, of Llewellyn Street, has spoken out in the wake of comments made by Archbishop of Cardiff, George Stack — a senior figure in the Catholic Church — who condemned the Welsh Government's plans to roll out a "presumed consent" policy on organ donation.

She said: "A lot of people will listen to him because he is a high-profile person, and he's entitled to his opinion. But I do wish these people would think before they say anything and keep out of it if they have no experience of the issue. I am definitely in favour of the opt-out system."

Mrs Jones added that she believed the Archbishop might take a different stance if he was on the waiting list for a transplant himself.

She has seen her 50-year-old son Robert, late son Wayne, who died last September aged 46, along with her 45-year-old son Richard and daughter Helen, 43, all undergo kidney transplants after living on dialysis.

The only one of her children who has not needed a new kidney is her 37-year-old daughter Cathryn.

"I am eternally grateful to all the donor families — they are all heroes," Mrs Jones added.

"They have given my children their lives back — you don't live on dialysis, you exist.

"It's very hard to see your children on dialysis.

"Giving life is the greatest gift you can give anybody."

Mrs Jones said she was glad to see Wales taking the lead on the issue of organ donation and said her daughter Helen's match for a new kidney was found in Spain, which already operates an opt-out system of consent.

"With Wales going on their own in terms of organ donation — it really is a start," she added.

"Not one of my children's transplants came from Wales — three came from England and one came from Spain."

The Most Reverend George Stack made clear his opposition to changes to the organ donation system, saying "our bodies are not an asset of the state".

He added there were "differing views of what constitutes the common good.

"I agree with my fellow church leaders that our organs should be donated as a gift to others and not as a duty."

Figures show nearly 300 people are waiting for an organ transplant in Wales alone.

Consultation on the proposals, which are outlined in the White Paper on the scheme, close on January 31. The Welsh Government said a bill would be introduced in 2012 and legislation could be in place by 2013. A soft opt-out system could come into effect in 2015.

elizabeth.perkins@swwmedia.co.uk