IN THIS New Year, the NHS service which is responsible for organ donation is calling on families in Devon to talk about organ donation and agree to join the organ donation register.

There are currently 92 patients awaiting the lifesaving gift of an organ transplant in Devon and many of their lives could be saved or significantly improved if a donor is found. Yet every day across the UK someone dies in need of an organ transplant.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: ‘For many thousands of people across the country, including 44 people in Devon who have had transplants [in 2020 and 2021], the only reason that they have been able to enjoy a happy and healthy Christmas is thanks to the generosity of a donor and their family who so selflessly chose to give the gift of life.

‘However, there are still thousands of people who are still desperately hoping and waiting for the transplant that will transform their life.’

Among those whose life has been saved by an organ donation in the past year is Lisa Woodcock from Exmouth, who was diagnosed in March 2020 with Primary Biliary Cholangitis, an autoimmune liver disease.

Lisa had a very aggressive variant, Ductopenia, which destroys the small bile ducts and she didn’t respond to any treatment, leading to a quick decline. After being assessed she was listed for a liver transplant in June this year.

Three days after her sister’s wedding in October Lisa received her lifesaving call.

It was a good match and the transplant went ahead successfully. Two weeks later Lisa was discharged home where she continues to make a speedy recovery and is very much looking forward to 2022.

Since her transplant Lisa has been told by her family that they didn’t think she would make it to see in the New Year.

She said: ‘Being on the waiting list was difficult, it was hard to get my head around and I felt like my life and my families’ lives were on hold.

‘You feel you are waiting for someone to die, and although I understand this is sadly a fact of life, that doesn’t make it any easier. Hopefully donor families can take some comfort from helping other people to live.

‘Helping my sister plan her wedding got me through my time on the list, it kept me distracted and over that time I didn’t realise how ill I was.

‘I was skeletal by this point, my eyes were yellow, my skin raw and I was surviving on about two hours sleep a night. Then suddenly I got the call, I was convinced it would be a false call and that transplant wouldn’t go ahead, I had been warned this is very normal. I couldn’t believe it when the surgeon walked in with the paperwork ready to go.

‘After surgery I was told by my consultant that the transplant came at just the right time, my liver was not very well at all.’

She said she felt ‘very lucky’ as many people are on the waiting list for a transplant for years.

‘When I got my call my first thoughts were for my donor, their family and my fellow liver buddies still waiting, I felt guilty. Thanks to my amazing care team, my transplant went very well and so far I have had a textbook recovery.’

She added that she wanted to thank her donor and their family. ‘Something tragic happened and they have saved other people, strangers.

‘I can’t imagine being in their shoes, it is so selfless of them, it is the greatest gift and they are my heroes. My husband Justin and I are forever grateful, we think of them and thank them every day.’

It is quick and easy to join the NHS Organ Donor Register, to pledge your organs to save someone else’s life after your death. Call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk