Our transplants,
Our stories Back in September, a national initiative by NHS Blood and Transplant aimed to get more people talking about organ donation and the importance of sharing your wishes. Organ Donation Week focused on the changes in the law around organ donation in England - which has seen the country move to an opt-out system in a bid to save more lives. PHA UK members Catherine and Paula shared their stories to highlight the importance of organ donation and raise awareness of PH, and we bring them to you here.
Catherine Makin from Lancashire had a double lung transplant in January 2020, five years after being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension at the age of 32. She shared her story eight months on from her operation.
The words ‘thank you’ don’t feel enough for giving me my life back
I
was assessed for transplant in June 2015, a year after I was diagnosed. It was first mentioned six months earlier, and up until that point I didn’t have a clue that it could be an option, or something that might happen. It was very scary having that conversation. I wondered whether, if I had the operation, I would come out the other side. I was listed for transplant in late summer 2015 and I had the operation in January 2020, so I waited a long time - but part of that was due to my decision not to accept the lungs of someone who had smoked.
WINTER 2018 emphasis 24
