A teenager has saved the lives of five strangers after a chance remark to her mother led to her organs being donated when she died suddenly from meningitis.

The family of Ruby Nagra, 18, have revealed they authorised doctors to give the organs to patients waiting for transplants after the 18-year-old succumbed to a virulent form of meningitis.

Ruby was six weeks into her first year at Nottingham Trent University when she called her parents to say that she had an eye infection and had been advised to attend an eye clinic in the city. She collapsed soon afterwards and was pronounced brain-dead within just a few hours.

Mother Jasvinder Kaur said: "We are so proud of what she has done. I remember we had a conversation in a pub where she said 'Mum, if somebody needs something when I die, then I would give it to them', so we knew what she would have wanted."

In the hours after Ruby's death, her heart, a lung, liver and both kidneys were transplanted.

A report commissioned by the Government rejected introducing "presumed consent" for organs to be taken, which would have seen them removed without the patient having given explicit consent.

Such a change had been publicly backed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson.

The story of Ruby's selflessness emerged after her funeral on Friday November 21.

Mrs Kaur, from Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, said: "I'm comforted to know she wouldn't have had time to know she was dying as it all happened so quickly. We are all so stunned.

"The doctor told us he had only ever seen one case which had progressed that quickly. There was nothing we could have done."

Ruby's uncle Satnam Lehal, who described his niece as "bubbly and energetic", said: "It is comforting to know she has saved those people.

"If this makes one other person think about donating, something has come of it."

Education and psychology student Ruby, who leaves two sisters aged 13 and 15, had wanted to work with children when she graduated.

A spokeswoman for Nottingham Trent University said: "We were extremely saddened to hear of this death and our thoughts are with the family and friends at this very sad time."

(China Daily November 24, 2008)