A YOUNG man who died suddenly of meningitis has saved four people's lives by being an organ donor.

Christopher Davey, 23, of Carter Avenue, Shanklin, was at work on the night of Friday, October 5. The next morning he began feeling ill. By the afternoon, he was in a coma from which he never woke up.

It was Christopher's wish to be an organ donor and because of this, four people have now received life-saving donations.

Life support machines had to remain switched on, even after it was clear Christopher would not survive, because there wasn't anyone on the Isle of Wight who could do the operation needed to donate his organs.

His organs went to people all over the country.

Christopher's sister, Toni Davey-Tiller, said: "Last year only 1,600 people were able to donate their organs due to being in the right time/place and having the right teams.

"Although Chris was pronounced dead on the 9th, the ventilator wasn't switched off until the 10th, as we don't have people on the Island who can perform that operation, so if we wanted to carry out Chris' request we had to wait, which was difficult.

"It's a bittersweet thing. We're proud of Chris for doing this, but would much rather him have use of them."

A fundraiser was started in Christopher's memory for Meningitis Now. Thousands of pounds were raised in just a few days and the fund continues to grow.

Christopher, a chef at The Yarbridge Inn, Brading, and former pupil of Sandown High, was originally diagnosed with flu and told he didn't need to go to hospital. His family are campaigning to raise awareness of the disease and the lesser-known symptoms so other people aren’t misdiagnosed.

To find out more about organ donation and how to become a donor, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk.