RELATIVES of people who have saved lives through organ donation are to be honoured at an awards ceremony today.

St John Cymru Wales has worked with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) since 2012 to recognise the incredible gift that donors and families make by consenting to donate their organs to save the lives of others.

Given in the name of HM The Queen, 12 families from all over Wales will receive a specially designed pin and citation at the ceremony in the Millennium Stadium, presented by Wales international and Cardiff Blues rugby player Sam Warburton and Dan Clayton Jones, The Prior for Wales.

Ann Medlicott, who lives in Ashvale in Tredegar, is receiving the award on behalf of her husband Desmond, who died in 2013 and saved the lives of two people and restored the sight of another two people.

She recalls how she found her husband laying on the floor at their home on August 28, 2013, and ambulance crews took him to Nevill Hall Hospital.

Mr Medlicott, 77, a keen rugby fan and lover of the countryside, was placed on life support, but a brain scan confirmed that he had died of a brain haemorrhage.

Mrs Medlicott, 74, said that when the organ donation specialists came, she knew that she had to agree as when watching an organ donation advert on the television months previous, Mr Medlicott said that he wouldn’t opt out.

She said: “It was a comfort to know that he would be helping others.”

Mr Medlicott’s one kidney, liver and corneas were donated and afterwards Mrs Medlicott received a letter from one of the recipients to say how grateful they were.

She was notified by letter about the awards and said it was a “nice surprise” and “a comfort to know he is being remembered.”

Also collecting the reward on behalf of Mr Medlicott is his nephew Leigh, sister-in-law Jayne and niece Anne.

The Chief Executive of St John Cymru Wales, Keith Dunn, said: “St John Cymru Wales felt it was important to say thank you to the families of those loved ones that have made the ultimate gift. Their generosity is an inspiration to us all.”