THE Most heartbreakin ng friendship of all

... is when you form a bond with a stranger whose life your tragic child saved with an organ donation — as these truly inspirational stories reveal

EVERY day, three people die while waiting for a transplant. For anyone who has wavered about signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register, the stories here may make you think again.

These groups of friends are testimony to the extraordinary healing power of organ donation.

They are friendships born of tragedy, the seeds sown when a grieving family bravely thought of someone else as their loved one lay dying.

There is also the friendship formed out of incredible self-sacrifice, when a living donor gives up an organ to a stranger.

It is rare for organ recipients to meet the donor or their family. They can contact each other but it has to be done anonymously through NHS Blood and Transplant, via the transplant co-ordinators at individual hospitals. They can then meet if they exchange contact details.

Here, though, we reveal a few of the remarkable and truly moving stories of those who did meet.