Organ donor plea

Then just a baby, she had been born with a serious heart defect - and her parents knew that without a heart transplant she would die.

But she was saved with an operation described as a 'miracle' by her parents.

Young Gabrysia undoubtedly owes her life to the skill and dedication of the medical staff at the hospital where she was treated

- but she also owes it to the bravery and selflessness of the donor family who allowed their own child's heart to be used.

It is one of the most awful decisions any family can ever have to make - but it can mean life or death for those waiting on the transplant list.

Gabrysia is a perfect example of how so much good can come out of a tragic situation, and it will hopefully bring some comfort to her donor family to know that they have saved her life.

But for every life saved there are more people waiting on the transplant list - and for some of them time simply runs out.

In West Yorkshire last year 15 people died because of the shortage of organs. At this present time a further 337 are waiting for a transplant.

Now NHS Blood and Transplant are publicising the figures to encourage people to spell out what their decision would be if they were to die.

They want everyone to discuss the issue with their family and to join the organ donor register.

With their first hand experience it's an appeal the Filarowski family are only too happy to support.

After the months of anticipation, the Tour de France finally arrived in our area... and what a superb event.

Anyone who was in Ilkley, Otley or Addingham, or any of the nearby places where the riders passed through on the Grand Depart will have had a brilliant time.

The sun shone down and it was a fantastic weekend, with an estimated five million people lining the route on both days.

Our areas certainly did the Tour de France proud, with Tour boss Christian Prudhomme saying Yorkshire had “raised the bar” for any future regions or countries that wanted to bid to host stages of the race.

The viewing hub in Ilkley was a great success and the town – no stranger to crowds at this time of year – was packed out by locals and visitors alike.

By any measure, it was a great success, and proved to the world that Yorkshire can host international events such as this with aplomb.

Now the race is over for Yorkshire, but we have the lasting benefits of the Tour’s weekend visit which will stay with us – a sense of pride foremost among those benefits, that Ilkley, Addingham, Otley and all the rest stepped up to the plate when it was required and acquitted ourselves in such a fantastic manner.

So let’s all hang on to that great feeling of well-being the Tour de France brought us and ensure that we continue to have such pride in our area and the feeling that if there’s enough belief in us, we can do anything.