Film director backing organ campaign

LORD of the Rings director Peter Jackson is showing precious backing for a former Newport man's organ transplant campaign.

In the Return of the King special edition DVD - expected to sell 30 million copies worldwide - the Oscar-winning Mr Jackson has included a promotional advertisement encouraging people to become donors.

His involvement stems from his support for Andy Tookey's GiveLife Campaign which aims to raise public awareness and calls for changes to the organ donation system in his adopted home of New Zealand.

The country has one of the lowest numbers of organ donors in the Western World - just 40 last year.

Mr Tookey, who emigrated from Newport with his family, initiated the campaign after discovering his daughter Katie would one day need a life-saving liver transplant.

"Peter offered his facilities to film the ad. He also suggested I ask a very talented young filmmaker to direct it, 16-year-old Cameron Duncan," said Mr Tookey. Cancer victim Cameron finished filming and editing the powerful and award-winning advertisement just months before he died of bone cancer.

Mr Tookey said he was overwhelmed when he discovered the ad was going to be included on the special edition DVD.

"I offered the commercial to the Ministry of Health on several occasions, free of charge, so as they could run it as part of a public awareness campaign to help increase the numbers of organ donors in New Zealand, but they declined each time."

He added he was grateful for the support Mr Jackson had given. The New Zealand parliament is due to review laws surrounding organ donation later this year.