A young mother of two who was on a transplant waiting list for a new kidney lost her battle against a dilapidating disease last week.

Raquel Rouxana Clarke Wilson, 36 from Pembroke was one of about 30 people in Bermuda who were waiting for new organs when she died.

Various Ministers paid tribute to Mrs. Wilson in the House of Assembly on Friday including the Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister of Health and Family Services, Michael Dunkley.

?She worked for us at the Mid Ocean Club for some 17 years and was one of the most vivacious and beautiful people you could meet,? he said.

Mr. Dunkley said staff at Mid Ocean supported Raquel as much as they could, but it was hard seeing someone with so much life being stuck down by illness.

?We had a function about ten days before she died and she was so full of life. Probably the most beautiful I?ve ever seen her. She was the most wonderful person who always wanted to make sure you enjoyed yourself and a lot of our members and staff adored her.?

Mr. Dunkley said he was shocked to receive the news last Monday morning that she had passed away and thought her fight to encourage people to become donors was a noble one. ?We need to do so much more,? he said, adding that he was an organ donor and encouraged fellow Bermudians to do the same.

Mrs. Wilson?s death has highlighted the urgent need for more donors in Bermuda.

In the United States up to 17 people die daily waiting for an organ transplant with some 87,000 Americans on a waiting list for transplants.

It?s estimated that another person is added to this waiting list every 16 minutes.

In Bermuda the number of those waiting has doubled in the past year.

Anyone interested in becoming an organ donor can contact the Bermuda Organ and Tissue Donor Association at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.