National Transplant Week is under way and coordinators are urging as many people as possible to sign up for the Organ Donor Register. Receiving an organ transplant can be a life-changing event, as one Courier Country man told Graeme Ogston.
It was the phone call David Graham had been waiting almost three years for.
The 47-year-old father-of-two, who had juggled dialysis treatment three times a week while holding down a day job, was told a suitable kidney had been harvested for a transplant.
“The call came at 2am,” said David, who lives in Scone with wife Donna and children Luke, 10 and Cerys, five.
“It was Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and they said I was second on the list. When I got there, I was top of the list.
“They tell you they can phone you at any time and you have to make your way down there immediately.
“It seemed like an eternity and then I was getting wheeled away from Donna to get prepared for the transplant.”
David’s life was transformed by last November’s operation and the delivery collection manager wants to encourage others during National Transplant Week to join the Organ Donor Register.
He said: “When I got my kidney I felt so grateful to the family of the people who’d agreed for it to be used in a transplant.
“I’ve been carrying my own card since 1990 and it’s still in my wallet.
“The NHS tell you themselves about 95% people would be quite happy to accept somebody else’s organs if they needed it but only about 50% are willing to give up their own organs.”
David first noticed something was wrong around four years ago.
He said: “The first symptoms were not being able to finish peeing properly but I put it down to a chill or an infection.
“Then I started to get sore heads and shoulders. The pain was so bad, I was vomiting.
“The day before my anniversary I was at home and felt absolutely lousy. The next day just as Donna was going to work, I collapsed.
“I can’t remember any of it but they took me to Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI) and then blue-lighted me to Ninewells.”
Doctors told Donna to prepare for the worst and David was given five litres of blood before finally stabilising.
He said: “I had two weeks in intensive care. They realised that my kidneys were starting to deteriorate. I had my first dialysis session and that was me for the next three years.”
David had to continue working throughout his treatment as he and Donna were in the process of looking for a new insurance policy when he became ill.
In addition his entire fluid intake was limited to just a litre per day.
He said: “I started work at six in the morning and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I finished at half one to go and dialyse at PRI.
“I came off the machine at half six and got home at 7pm. It took me six months to get on the waiting list for a transplant.
“After the transplant I felt great. My appetite returned.
“When that restriction is lifted it’s incredible, it’s a psychological thing.
“It’s unbelievable. When I finish work I can go straight home to my children.
“But the main thing is, I don’t need the dialysis machine that was saving my life and keeping me going.
“To think I can go home and not be strapped up and hooked up, to do things at the weekend, to take my son to the football, it’s just so much better.”
Irene Russell, pictured, NHS Tayside transplant coordinator for the past 14 years, saw first-hand the transformation of David’s life following his operation.She said: “This was a young man with a young family who became what we call a “crash lander”.
“Within a few weeks his kidneys failed and he had a huge psychological mountain to climb.
“Now every part of his life has changed.
“It was an absolutely marvellous opportunity for him and he grabbed it with both hands.” Irene said the last decade has seen greater awareness and understanding of the Organ Donor Register.
She said: “People would come up to us say they were too old or their kidneys were no good.
“It may be that was just an excuse not to think about our own mortality, because when we talk about organ donation we are talking about when we die and what we like done with our organs.
“Some people are very proactive and others find it a bit difficult to take on board.
“I think people are a lot more aware of the ins and outs of transplantation these days and what we can and can’t achieve.
“One reason people don’t join the register is apathy.
“But I get the general feeling that the apathy is getting less.
“My message is join the Organ Donor Register and tell your loved ones what you want.
“Just spell it out I want to be an organ donor.”