AN Oakworth man whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver has welcomed progress to change the law to promote organ donation.

Martin Walker, whose daughter Claire McKeown died seven years ago, said he hoped reform of the legislation would "push at an open door" by reflecting widespread public support for the changes.

He and his wife Sally lost their 32-year-old daughter Claire on July 1 2011. The woman responsible for the fatal collision was jailed for eight years.

Since then Claire's organs have saved the lives of three people and dramatically improved the lives of at least five or six others.

Her decision to be an organ donor saved a 21-year-old woman with less than a week to live through a liver transplant. And one of Claire's kidneys went to a six-year-old boy who had been on dialysis for two years.

A new opt-out system for organ donation will be in place by 2020 in England, if Parliament approves. Under the plans, adults will be presumed to be organ donors unless they have recorded their decision not to be. The government has said this would save up to 700 lives each year.

A similar system has been in place in Wales since 2015.

The legislation is due to return to Parliament in the autumn to be voted on. If passed, it should come into effect in England in spring 2020.

Mr Walker, who is a retired librarian and a Keighley town councillor, said: "For me, it's a no-brainer. And though we'll have to wait till 2020 for this to come into force it's better than not having it at all."

He said he believed efforts to change the organ donation law have taken a long time to advance because of enduring public misconceptions surrounding the organ donor process.

"To some extent a lot of people are still quite squeamish about it," he said.

"They have these ideas about it being like a full post mortem or an autopsy, when in fact it isn't like that.

"I'm not deeply religious, and my own feeling is that once the body has gone the soul is elsewhere.

"And under the new opt-out system there are safeguards built in which allow the family to object to organ donation. They'll still have the power to over-rule.

"When someone's organs are allowed to be used they can give new life to someone who would otherwise have nothing to look forward to."

Keighley MP John Grogan, who has been among the politicians backing the organ donor opt-out bill, said: "I am confident that the House of Commons will in the autumn approve the changes to the law which will effectively bring in an opt-out system of organ donation.

"The new law will be a tribute to the campaigning of Martin and Sally Walker, but also to the memory of their daughter Claire."