Northumberland man with kidney failure given '30 years of life' thanks to lifesaving organ donor
Finding out he needed a transplant was "like a hammer blow" for Graeme Appleby, who is still unaware of what caused him to suffer kidney failure 30 years ago.
After experiencing horrific symptoms, such as a continuous bad taste in his mouth, severe headaches, and cramps in the back of his leg, daily activities became impossible. And by the time he received a call to say a donor had been found he began to feel excited at the prospect of getting his life back.
Graeme, who was 34 at the time, said he remains "so grateful" to his donor and their family since he received a transplant in 1994, the year the NHS Organ Donor Register was created. Since then more than 100,000 people in the UK have had their lives saved or improved by an organ transplant, including more than 14,500 people in the North East and Yorkshire.
READ MORE:Fallen tree causes power cut for more than 2,300 households in Northumberland
READ MORE:Cases of "dangerous" motorbike disorder in Ashington and Blyth fall
Graeme, a retired agricultural engineer, said: "When I found out I needed a transplant it was like a hammer blow. It knocks the wind out of your sails because there's a lot to process but you have to deal with it very quickly. When I got the call, I felt excitement and some trepidation. We had a bag packed ready to jump into the car and go. The transplant gives you your life back – you more or less get to live a normal life again."
Since the transplant Graeme has been able to enjoy life with his wife Kerry by going travelling and walking five miles a day, as well as being able to enjoy his food again. He has also participated at many British Transplant Games and a World Transplant Games in Hungary.
The 66-year-old, from Widdrington in Northumberland, added: "You can never repay your donor and their family, I'm so grateful. They have given me 30 years of life (and counting). How do you thank someone for something like that? I would say thank you for everything. Anything I can say is never enough."
His message of thanks comes as NHS Blood and Transplant celebrates Organ Donation Week (23rd – 29th September)and the Organ Donor register reaches its 30th anniversary. Although organ donation has been saving lives in the UK since the 1950's, the NHS Organ Donor Register was created in 1994 to promote the wider message of organ donation and allow people to record their decision to be a donor.
Since then more than 3.5 million people in the North East and Yorkshire have declared their willingness to donate their organs after death. And in the last year alone 417 patients in the region received a lifesaving transplant from a deceased donor and 220 residents donated their organs after death.
However, the waiting list for a transplant in the UK is higher than ever before, with 1036 patients in the region still actively waiting for a lifesaving organ. Only around 1% of people who die in the UK every year are usually able to donate their organs after death. Donors are typically those who have died in a hospital intensive care unit or emergency department due to brain injuries, cardiac arrest or other trauma.
Therefore, it is vital that everyone who wants to be a donor registers their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and talks it through with their families who will be expected to support their decision should the time come.
Families are far more likely to support donation when they already know it was what their relative wanted. Almost 90% of people honoured their family members decision last year when they had either proactively registered their decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register or verbally expressed a decision to be a donor.
Graeme said: "Stop thinking about it and sign the register. It's a no brainer. You've got to ask yourself if you need a new organ would you accept one? If so, sign it. It's a happy coincidence that the Organ Donor register turns 30 the same year as my kidney transplant. It's great that they are both still going well and hopefully this might encourage many more to join the register as they can see it really does make a huge difference."
Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "Every day across the UK there are thousands of patients and their families, waiting for that all important life-saving call. Yet, this is often only possible as a result of another family receiving some of the hardest news they might ever have to hear.
"The change in the law now means that it's assumed that when someone dies in circumstances where they could be a donor, that they agree to donate if they haven’t officially opted out. However, no-one is automatically added to the Organ Donor Register. You still need to confirm your own decision and your family will still be consulted before donation goes ahead and will be expected to support your decision.
"With 1036 patients in the North East and Yorkshire waiting for organ transplants, it's more important than ever to register your organ donation decision and make it known to your family."
For more information, or to register your organ donation decision, please visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23. NHS app users in England can also use the service to record, check or update their organ donation decision.