In this part of the website we have various heart and lung recipients sharing their stories about their journey to, through and beyond a life saving transplant.  Over the following months we intend to build up a picture of hope for all people waiting on a transplant list, whatever the organ(s) they require.  The stories on this website are expressed in the words of the actual recipients.  They have written all the content themselves, although medical staff have added technical details where necessary and made sure these details are technically accurate.

All the content and photographs have been given to the Clinic by the recipients.

Their tales are designed to be uplifting – to reassure the reader that medical life-saving miracles are achieved in the NHS thanks to transplantation procedures.  Recipients for heart and/or lung transplants follow similar, though never identical journeys to the point in their life when they must have a life saving organ transplant.  For this to occur patients will have been told by a cardiologist or lung consultant that they are in imminent risk of dying, with a greater than 50% chance that they will not survive the next 12 months.

For some patients the decision to have a transplant comes as a huge relief.  Lung patients that have had to survive 'married' to an oxygen bottle for most of their lives possibly greet the prospect of a transplant with fear, but also with hope and relief.  They can perhaps envisage a life with new lungs that enable them to walk up hills for the first time in their lives without going blue.

In contrast, a young person suddenly struck by a virus that virtually destroys their heart over a couple of days will enter the transplant process bemused and probably very angry indeed.  "Why me" becomes a very difficult question for them to confront.

Most recipients fall somewhere between these two extremes.  In some cases a series of heart attacks may lead to a gradual deterioration in the heart's function ultimately leading to a transplant.  Similarly lung failure may occur slowly over a period of years.

Please do not read each account and worry!  Just because you may have experienced some of the medical challenges described in the stories, it does not mean that you will necessarily need a transplant.  In my own case I received a pacemaker to keep my heart beating regularly thirteen years before I needed a heart transplant.  My pacemaker gave me a perfectly normal life for over seven years.  It would have continued to keep me ‘fit & active’ if I had not developed dilated cardiomyopathy, resulting in heart failure. 

So just because you may have a pacemaker, do not fear that you are on a  treadmill to a transplant. If you have any worries or concerns about what you have read please seek advice from your GP or consultants at your hospital.  Unfortunately the staff at the Transplant Clinic cannot offer you personal advice unless you have been referred to the unit by a doctor.

We hope to update these stories periodically. If you want to find out more information or read about other patient stories please go to the UK Transplant website at www.uktransplant.org.uk  or www.transplantsinmind.org.uk which is an umbrella group of organisations devoted to increasing organ donation and transplant awareness. 

The Clinic is not responsible for the content of the linked websites or the information provided by the recipients in the stories, although every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information provided.  Anybody wishing to contribute to this section of the website with their own stories please contact Janice Taylor at the New Start charity office either by telephone or email her at newstart@transplant-online.co.uk - you could also pass on your comments through the 'Guestbook' link on this website.

Whether you are reading these pages as somebody waiting for a transplant or on behalf of a loved one, we wish you every success in journey.  You are not alone in this journey – many have successfully gone through it before you.  If you would like personal counselling on any related transplant issue please contact the Transplant Support Network on 0800 027 4490 or visit their website at www.transplantsupportnetwork.org.uk – this is a support charity where volunteers can share non-medical advice with you, based on their own experience of transplantation.