A "SUPER nurse" is to be employed in Bolton to tackle the sensitive issue of donor organ transplants.

The Royal Bolton Hospital has been given £90,000 to set up the transplant co-ordinator post and is to recruit in the New Year.

The new charge nurse or sister will be responsible for improving the numbers of organ donations in the town.

This is due to a falling number of organ donors nationwide.

Mandy Leyland, head of service for anaesthetics and critical care at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said: "Ultimately, this will save lives. We are delighted at hearing the news that our bid has been accepted.

"At the moment we do not have a full-time co-ordinator. This is seen a very pro-active, a real improvement to what we have got now."

The new super nurse will teach staff the importance of asking bereaved families for donor organs and tissues.

Ms Leyland said: "It is a very sensitive issue. But I think Bolton has been successful in its bid because of all the hard work that the staff have done so far.

"This is a good hospital and we rarely get the recognition we deserve when it comes to finance. The staff here have been doing a great job at the same as carry out their own duties. This way we can now put the entire role in a full-time post. We are all delighted." Last year, 484 people died nationwide while waiting for a transplant. One in 10 died while waiting for a heart transplant.

Kidneys, hearts, livers, lungs, pancreas, corneas, heart valves, bone, skin, bowels and tissue can all be used to give people with serious burns or massive injuries a chance to survive.

The new Bolton transplant co-ordinator will try to hammer home the message that families should know of their relatives' wishes concerning organ donation.

Bolton will get £30,000 to initially fund the post in the New Year followed by two further £30,000 payments until 2004.

Then the onus will be placed Bolton Hospital NHS Trust will take over the financial cost.

Bolton's cash success is part of a nationwide £4 million scheme to reach government targets to double the transplant rate by 2005.

Health minister Jacqui Smith said: "We are determined to improve transplant services across the country and increase the number of transplants carried out.

"Our goal is to increase the number of people on the organ donor register to 16 million by 2010."