Organ Donation Week 2025: Staff stories
During Organ Donation Week 2024 our team of specialist nurses were absolutely stunned by the number of colleagues here at the hospital, who kindly shared their experiences of organ donation – whether that be as a donor family member, a living donor, a transplant recipient (or recipient family member) or indeed as a loved one of someone who sadly passed away whilst awaiting a transplant. Such was the impact that this year we are telling the stories of four members of staff who have agreed to share their experiences with us.
Claire’s story
My husband William (Billy to everyone outside of the medical world) was born in 1979. He was born with a congenital heart defect – a double inlet ventricle. This meant too much blood went into his lungs and not to the rest of his body. As a child he has many surgeries including banding surgeries to reduce the high blood flow to the lungs.
This worked for a time, but he became increasingly unwell as a teenager. He was put on the heart transplant list in 1995. He was on the organ donation list for 2 years before he received a heart. He has a close call where he was flown to Brompton hospital via helicopter paid for ITV I believe but this heart was unsuitable.
Billy received the gift of life in November 1997. He received a domino transplant – he received the heart of a lady who received a heart and lung transplant. It was a long recovery – Billy needed a tracheostomy, a pacemaker and it took a little while to get his immunosuppressant medications right.
Life was reasonably straightforward – Billy and I met in 2002, and we married in 2008. I was a newly qualified nurse, and Billy became a stay-at-home dad. Oliver was born in 2009, then Katy in 2011 and finally Will in 2014.
Over the years Billy’s renal function had been declining (known side effect of Ciclosporin) but he had been holding his own until 2015. Billy needed to start dialysis, and everything changed. I paused my career to be a stay-at-home mum and support Billy. I put myself forward to be a living donor – dialysis took its toll on Billy, and the goal was to get him back to his happy, fun-loving, high-energy self. Billy endured almost two years of dialysis and after all the testing and procedures we were a match!!
The living donor transplant took place August 2017. The teams at Norwich and Addenbrookes were amazing and everything went to plan. We were on the same ward, and I was able to walk round and see him the next morning. Recovery went well and were both home within the week. Billy went from strength to strength and once he had adjusted to the new medications’ life went back to normal with our little tribe.
Unfortunately, Billy died in 2021- he contracted covid and died from multisystem organ failure. He lived a full, happy life, going on holidays and adventures with our children and making lots of memories. He was such a fun dad, and he loved being silly and playing pranks – he loved making the children jump if they poked his trachy scar or felt his buzzing fistula. Our children have so many happy memories and it’s all possible because he received a heart transplant. He was ever so lucky to get second chance of life at 18 years old and go on to have a family and live a good life.
After the renal transplant Billy and I made the decision to register our children as organ donors. We know the positive impact organ donation can have. As they have grown up it is something we regularly talk about – they know their dad had a girl’s heart and a girl’s kidney.
Michael’s story
“In February, we sadly lost our beloved mum and wife at just 45 years old to a sudden stroke. She was the rock of our family, the one we could always turn to. Losing her has left a huge hole in our lives. In the middle of our heartbreak, we respected that she was an organ donor and carried out her wishes. She was always kind, thoughtful and ready to help
others, and that spirit is carried on through her final act of generosity. Knowing that she has left such a powerful legacy brings us so much pride. Because of her decision, five people were given a second chance at life. Knowing that she has helped so many brings us comfort, and feels like a part of her is still out there, living on and making a difference. The hospital staff supported us throughout the whole process with compassion and care. They even updated us at every stage and even reached out weeks later to see how we were coping. Their kindness meant the world to us during such a difficult time. Her example has also inspired us as a family. One of us has already chosen to become an organ donor because of her, and together we are passionate about encouraging others to have that conversation. We are so proud of her. Her gift has saved lives, and her story is proof of how powerful and meaningful organ donation can be. We encourage every family to have that conversation about organ donation. It’s not easy to talk about, but it is one of the most meaningful gifts you can give. We are so proud of our mum and wife and the lives she’s saved, and we hope her story inspires others to say yes to organ donation.”
From the Denholm Family