A Fife couple have urged more people to register as organ donors after finding out their young son gave two people a second chance at life.
Stephen Wood was just six when he was tragically killed in an accident in 1989.
Nearly 30 years later, parents Avril and John Wood, of Pittenweem, found out his kidneys had been donated to two people, a man and a young boy.
Both recipients have since passed away, but the man was able to live for eight years longer than he would have without a new kidney.
Mrs Wood, 58, said: “To know that somebody got eight years, and maybe got to see their family grow up, is a tremendous thing to know when you’ve taken that decision on someone’s behalf.
“It’s probably one of the hardest things to have to do in life, but it feels very positive to know that you’ve given the gift of life and by taking that decision Stephen’s life has gone on through others.”
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The family will be joined by relatives of organ donors across Scotland at a ceremony in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Friday, where they will be presented with the St John Scotland Award for Organ Donation.
Mrs Wood said she had always wanted to know if anyone had benefited after Stephen donated both his kidneys.
After inquiring, she received a letter from Ninewells Hospital.
“They sent a lovely letter which said a boy had been given one of the kidneys and it was a man who got the other one,” she said.
“Looking back we have no regrets. It’s the best thing we could have done.”
This week is Organ Donation Week and Organ Donation Scotland is spreading the message “we need everybody” to challenge perceptions of who can join the organ donation register and encourage people of all ages, shapes, sizes and ethnicities to sign up.
Mrs Wood said she and her husband John, 61, had both signed up as organ donors.
And she believes Stephen would have wanted to help others by donating his organs.
“When asked what he wanted from Santa he said he wanted a surprise,” she said.
“He was a gentle boy. He had a love for animals and a passion for staying with his granny. He was such a wonderful boy to have around.”
