organ donation Archives - Page 2 of 3

5 Things I’ll Never Forget:
Choosing to be Empowered

This post is Part 5 in a series based on a presentation I recently did. The rest of the posts can be found here. The more I’ve got to know a very broad cross-section of our little “renal world”, the more I’ve wanted to do something of value within this community, something to help other patients. I know I’ve written before about how lucky I am that I’ve come into contact with a lot of

May 17, 2018 7 Comments

Transplantiversary?

Long before I knew I’d eventually have one myself, I watched my friends with transplants celebrate their annual “transplantiversary”. These are “birthdays” for donated organs; a means of recognising how long the recipients have had them, and an opportunity to celebrate another year of life that in many cases would not have been possible otherwise. Once I started waiting for my transplant, I wondered on a few occasions what date it would be. I naturally

November 12, 2017 2 Comments

The other side of the story; Dear Holly

Several months ago, I mentioned having written a letter to the family of my donor. I did this not only to say thank you, but also because I wanted his family to see that I was a real, live person whose life has been changed by their loved one. I also wrote it knowing that out of the relatively small percentage of transplant recipients who send letters, very few ever hear back, so it was highly

October 29, 2017 7 Comments

The most important thing I’ve ever done; Dear Donor Family

A few weeks ago, I did one of the most important things I probably ever will. I wrote to the family of my donor. Due to NHS regulations here in the UK, I know virtually nothing about my donor or his family. I know his gender, obviously, and that he was “middle-aged” and healthy enough to donate. Beyond that, he is anonymous. I presume his family know equally little about me. Probably only that I’m

May 29, 2017 6 Comments

Chapter IX: Nothing that ends in a gift ends in nothing.

Mum arrived in the UK (again!) in mid-November, but until she did, my poor friends had to put up with me! My drugged, anxious, sick, tired, generally unstable self was certainly not the best company ever! Turns out, transplant recovery is not for wimps. It. Was. Hard. Fortunately they understood why, and were brilliant at distracting me. As soon as I reached the point where I had more good hours in a day than bad

May 24, 2017 No Comments

5 Things I’ll Never Forget:Choosing to be Empowered

Transplantiversary?

The other side of the story; Dear Holly

The most important thing I’ve ever done; Dear Donor Family

Chapter IX: Nothing that ends in a gift ends in nothing.

5 Things I’ll Never Forget:
Choosing to be Empowered