transplant week 2011

Dee Montague

Meet Dee, whose father recently had a heart transplant.

My Dad had a heart transplant. Until you really think about it, it doesn’t sound like much of a big deal. But if Dad hadn’t had the operation when he did, he would have died. That is certain; people are not on the waiting list for simple fixes. Dad’s transplant came at a time when as a family, we didn’t know how much more we could take. Within just a few years, Dad had seen his sister beat cancer, then my Mum. My brother sadly died of cancer and not long after that, Dad’s parents did too.

Although I make a living from writing, I still can’t put into words the gratitude I feel towards the donor family who made the tough decision to help my Dad. I’m not sure I’ve experienced the level of relief and happiness I felt when Dad had his transplant since. It didn’t just save my Dad, it gave my family a new lease of life too. 

I talk to a lot of people about organ donation. Most of them aren’t on the Organ Donor Register despite wishing to donate when the time comes. Many wrongly assume that their organs (usually their livers!) won’t be fit for purpose. Some of them say they will donate everything but their eyes. Having previously worked at a college for people with a visual impairment, I only wish they would change their minds. The most common theme is that no one seems to fully understand the outcome if a transplant doesn’t happen; that the patient will die. The fact that a number of people have asked how long patients are on the waiting list for, or queried why they can’t go private, only emphasises the ignorance surrounding donation and transplants.

To anyone who hasn’t registered, I ask this: Imagine you are rushed to hospital having been taken ill. After running tests, the doctors tell you your only hope for survival is a transplant. You have anything between a few hours and a few months to live. Would you thank them for their help and resign yourself to the fact you are going to die? Or would you join the waiting list and hope and pray that you would get that life-saving transplant? If the answer is the latter, what are you waiting for? Please join the NHS Organ Donor Register. If you would want someone else to help you, surely that has to be a two-way thing. 

For the record, when my time comes they can take anything they can use. The rest can be used for research and they can bury my sins. I hope they won’t need too big a box for that!”

Please register as an organ donor today! It only takes a few minutes and you can sign up here by following the prompts.