Organ Donation as a Recipient – Hattie’s Story

 

“If you’re someone who’s sitting on the fence about whether to sign up to the organ donation register, I can’t urge you enough to finally click that button.

 Organ donation has always been a part of my life, having had my first transplant when I was 2.5 years old – a deceased donor from the NHS Donor List – and my second transplant from my Dad in 2021 at the age of 24. My life would have been immeasurably different had I not had the opportunity to have those transplants, and I openly accept the fact that it’s likely I wouldn’t still be here today.

 Before my first transplant, I managed to avoid dialysis and was only on the waiting list for around 6 months, but the second time was a different story. After being put on emergency dialysis with 5% working function left, I then had 4 cancelled transplant dates over the next 2.5 years. You go through all the motions of ‘why me’, ‘how can this be happening’ and ‘when will this ever end’, but knowing that there is such thing as a ‘transplant’ keeps you going when you’re in the trenches. My Dad was tested thoroughly throughout those 2.5 years for numerous different things, such as tissue typing, blood type, percentage working function, antibodies, the list goes on. The feeling of finally finding out he was a match was, well, unmatched.

 Transplants aren’t always as straight forward as they sound, and are often much tougher on the recipient than the donor, due to the medication and need for constant tests when the kidney is bedding in. After some initial ups and downs in the first couple of years, I’m now 4 years post-transplant and feeling like I have my life back. I have a full-time job, which I never would have been able to hold down during my dialysis treatment, as I was asleep most of the time from the chronic fatigue. I’ve managed to buy a house with my fiancée, and I attend weekly pottery classes and have time to invest in my hobbies rather than sitting in hospital clinics and waiting rooms.

 It really is the gift of life, as cheesy as it sounds. Donating an organ, whichever organ it might be, really will change that person’s life in more ways than you could ever imagine. Life on dialysis felt like living in black and white, every day was about survival, muted and drained of colour. My transplant gave me back more than just a kidney; it gave me back a full spectrum of colour into my life. Now, even the smallest things like a walk outside, time with friends and family or even achieving something new feels brighter, richer, and more vibrant than I ever thought possible. Signing up to the organ donor register enables you to bring that colour back to peoples’ lives, and I truly think that is worth more than any ‘what if’ or worry you may have. 

 You might feel uncertain about signing the register, but imagine if your uncertainty was about whether you’d live to see next week? That’s the reality for so many people waiting for a transplant, and with how high my blood pressure was at the time, that was my reality too. Saying yes to organ donation is saying yes to giving someone a future. Signing up takes 2 minutes and can potentially save up to 9 lives. If that’s not the wildest and most incredible thing you’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.

 I’ve been incredibly lucky to receive both of my transplants, one from a deceased donor and one from a living donor. It’s hard to put into words the fullness of life a transplant gives, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you to anyone who has taken, or is taking, the time to register. Because of you, someone will experience immeasurable joy and a second chance at life, just like I have. Clicking that button is the best thing you’ll ever do.”