An NHS worker is urging people to talk about joining the organ donation register after kidneys from her late husband transformed a grandfather's life.
Charlotte Hornby, 48, is putting out the rallying call as Norwich Castle and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) will be lit up in pink to mark national organ donation week which runs from September 26 to October 2.
Her late husband Andy Hornby, 50, died on May 9 last year after he was involved in a crash with a stationary vehicle on the B1150 near Coltishall while riding his bike on May 2.
An inquest concluded Mr Hornby, an accountant and keen photographer, died at the NNUH from serious spinal and brain injuries sustained from the collision.
Mrs Hornby, an NNUH deputy operations manager, said she and her husband signed up to the organ donation register 20 years ago and was supported by the hospital's organ donation team days before his death.
She said: "We had a letter from a man who had received his kidneys. It was lovely.
"I knew I made the right decision by offering Andy's organs for donation because he has helped someone who has previously been on dialysis five days a week but can now see his children and grandchildren. He could start rebuilding his life which was fantastic.
"Andy's death meant he could provide this man with the gift of life."
His heart valves were also donated which are used to help babies with a hole in the heart, which she found "amazing".
Mrs Hornby, from North Walsham, added knowing her husband's wishes to donate organs made a bleak situation in the last few days of his life easier and urged people to talk about organ donation.
"People should sign up. You have nothing to lose," she said.
The couple's daughter, Lucy, 11, who was signed up to the organ donation register at birth, said: "It is really good to sign up. Losing someone so close to you is hard but my dad gave someone a longer life with their family."
The mother and daughter will take part in a memory walk on the Blickling Estate to raise awareness of organ donation.
For more information visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk
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