A CORONER has paid tribute to the efforts of a tragic lung disease sufferer who encouraged people to become organ donors.

Father-of-two Alan Thornton died in January after a long battle with the rare disease fibrosing alveolitis, which affects the alveoli in the lungs which pass oxygen into the blood stream.

Despite his debilitating disease Mr Thornton, who was on the transplant waiting list for new lungs, campaigned for more people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register.

Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, Bolton's deputy coroner Alan Walsh said: "This country is very low in the number of people who are organ donors and Mr Thornton's case should encourage people to consider becoming organ donors. I'm grateful to Mr Thornton for the efforts he made."

Mr Thornton, aged 52, of Darcy Lever, had worked with asbestos in the past but experts told the hearing they did not believe this had caused his illness. He started suffering from a shortness of breath in March, 2002, and by the following September he developed a chronic chest infection.

He was treated with antibiotics and transferred to the Royal Bolton Hospital where a biopsy revealed he had fibrosing alveolitis.

The former principal building surveyor for Bury Council, who worked full-time until last October, was initially treated in Bolton, but transferred to Wythenshawe one of only five transplant centres in the country when he was placed on the transplant waiting list.

He was offered a lung transplant last August, but before they could operate doctors discovered the new lung was full of cysts.

A second organ was found in October, but it was again incompatible. His condition deteriorated rapidly after November and he sadly died on January 16 in the Royal Bolton Hospital.

After the hearing, his widow Correen said: "I just hope Alan's death can help others by making them aware of transplantation and how important it is that they do carry donor cards and make their organs available because that's what he would have wanted."