A young woman whose declining health means she is no longer able to indulge her passion for dance is calling on people to sign up to the organ donor register and make their wishes clear to their next of kin.

Sharee McPhail suffers from cystic fibrosis, the UK’s most common life-threatening inherited disease. It affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick, sticky mucus, making it hard to breathe and digest food. There is no cure.

Sharee, 26, of Moser Avenue, Bradford, has undergone tests to see if she is ill enough to be listed for a double lung transplant. But there is a shortage of donor organs.

She said: “I have lost dear friends for whom the call came too late or didn’t come at all.”

The former Hanson School pupil worked as a dance teacher at schools in Halifax and Bradford.

But in January this year she caught pneumonia and has not been able to work since.

“A transplant would give me my life back and I could go back to work doing what I love doing," she said.

“I would be able to do normal activities and not rely on oxygen overnight.”

Sharee is raising awareness of the shortage of donors in the UK and fundraising for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and a new charity called Live Life Then Give Life, which campaigns to save and improve the lives of those in need or receipt of a transplant.

Sharee and her friend Rachael Dennis are organising a charity ball at the Midland Hotel, Bradford, on Saturday, September 25. Tickets are £35, which includes a drink on arrival, three-course meal, entertainment, disco, raffle and auction. For tickets, contact Rachael on 07855 371097.

To sign up to the organ donor register visit organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.

e-mail: claire.lomax@telegraphandargus.co.uk