Rebecca Chamberlain takes medication every day to keep her alive after a kidney transplant 11 years ago.

The 34-year-old was born with just one functioning kidney and this began to fail when she was 19. She had a successful kidney transplant from her brother Peter but still needs daily medication to ensure the new kidney keeps working.

Rebecca, from Edinburgh, says the 51 per cent cut in the cost of her Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC) will make a big difference.

She explained: "Prescriptions can be expensive but I don't have any choice – if I don't take my medication, my new kidney would simply stop working."

"I still take medication every day and will have to for the rest of my life. The main tablet is an immunosuppressant which stops my body rejecting the new kidney but this leaves me prone to coughs and colds so I often need other prescriptions. I also take a steroid tablet and vitamin supplement."

"The new charges will make a really big difference to me. Instead of paying £35.85 every four months for my PPC, I'll be paying just £48 for the full year so it's a lot more affordable."

And Rebecca, a fundraiser at Edinburgh University, says the reductions will make it easier for people who need several medications at once.

She said: "paying for prescriptions has left me short of money in the past and I've heard stories of people who have to choose which part of their medication to take."

"Cutting the cost by 51 per cent will make a huge difference."