Real Life Organ Donation Stories
Catherine Maria Heighton
Catherine passed away at Ysbyty Gwynedd on 31 July, 2013 after suffering a fall at home.
Her husband, Graham, was left devastated by her death but describes how his family’s tragic loss was made easier by knowing that she had provided the ‘gift of life’ to others.
He said: “It was a beautiful afternoon and my wife had gone into the kitchen and somehow lost her balance and fell over and suffered a bang to her head.
“She was perfectly ok, apart from a bit shook up, I told her to go for a lie down, so she went to bed, went to sleep but never woke up.
“The next day she was rushed to Ysbyty Gwynedd and I was told she had suffered a serious brain injury and after some tests we found out there was nothing the doctors could do.
“At that point I was approached by an organ donation nurse who tentatively asked what I thought about organ donation.
“My wife and I had both discussed organ donation for years and we both agreed we wanted to be donors.
“The nurse, Abigail Roberts, said she would check the central register and confirmed my wife was on it.
“The result of this meant my wife was able to provide the gift of life to four other people.
“This was the only good thing to come out of such a horrible day – knowing this has kept me going and I fully support the work of the organ donation specialist nurses at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
“Donating organs does make a difference and it really does make it easier for those left behind, it’s important that all families discuss their feelings on it.”
Ella Noon
Ella Noon, from Colwyn Bay, received her transplant at Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 2008 at just two-years-old, after she was diagnosed with liver disease shortly after she was born.
Ella, a pupil at Ysgol Aberconwy, received her organ from a 17-year-old girl in Derbyshire who was tragically killed in a car crash.
Following her surgery she was rushed into intensive care with a serious infection. Since then she remains on medication due to her low immune system, and attends hospital on a regular basis.
Ella is now determined to encourage people to talk openly about organ donation to boost the number of organs donated and save more lives.
She said: “I am so grateful for the organ I received, it saved my life.
“I’m really keen to increase awareness amongst kids around my age – it’s really important they understand what organ donation means and how it can change someone’s life.
“I’m now looking forward to supporting the Specialist Organ Donation Nurses at Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board to help raise awareness and also attend secondary schools in the area to talk to them about organ donation and tell them my story.”
Amy Elizabeth Jones
Amy Elizabeth Jones was just 24-years-old when she died on the 11th June, 2015 after a seizure at home four days earlier.
Her heartbroken mother, Sharron Jones, spoke out about her family’s tragedy to promote awareness and the importance of organ donation.
She said: “It was just like any normal day, I had come home from work, me and Amy had dinner, and then she went upstairs.
“All of a sudden I heard this awful bang and the sound of the door slamming. I immediately ran up the stairs and I tried to open the bathroom door but I couldn’t as Amy’s weight was against it.
“I rang the ambulance and Amy was taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital where she was placed on the critical care unit.”
Amy was diagnosed with epilepsy in her late teens and began experiencing absence seizures.
Four days after Amy arrived at Wrexham Maelor Hospital Sharron was told the devastating news that her daughter was not going to recover.
“We were told that if Amy did come back to us, she wouldn’t be the same Amy.
“I am truly grateful for everything the doctors did, the nurses were like angels to us and provided us with so much support, but I knew there was nothing more they could do for her.”
During that time in hospital Sharron was approached by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s Organ Specialist Nurse, Abi Roberts, who asked if she had considered organ donation. She knew her answer straight away as a member of her family had lost their life waiting for a lung transplant.
She said: “I knew right away what Amy would have wanted, we had discussed it openly due to losing a member of our family who was on the transplant list.
“Amy’s gift of life provided a new life for three other women. One of the recipients received her liver and the two other women received her kidneys.
“I will never get over losing Amy, I will miss not seeing her get married and have children but she’s doing all that now being an organ donor and they are taking care of her.
“It was a very hard decision to make but it was what Amy would have wanted. It’s important that families sit down and discuss organ donation and if anything happens to you it’s important for your family to know what you want.
“You have to put their decision first before your own feelings, I put Amy’s first and I know being the caring young girl she was she’d be happy to know she has helped save the lives of three other people.”