Long wait over for Ross-shire organ transplant couple
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A ROSS-SHIRE couple whose 12-year organ transplant agony is finally over spoke this week of their deep sense of gratitude to the health teams who changed their lives.
The lives of the Strathconon-based George family were turned upside down 12 years ago with a shock diagnosis made during pregnancy.
The high blood pressure affecting Sarah George resulted in the bolt-from-the-blue revelation that she only had one kidney, which was damaged.
A life-changing transplant was deemed essential — but with a lengthy waiting list of anything up to five years, it heralded a long period of uncertainty.
The couple decided to go down the road of a “living donor” transplant.
After a year of stringent tests, Sarah’s husband Ernest, a highly respected landscape garden and design expert, was found to be a suitable candidate for a “living donor” transplant.
The timing of the operation was crucial to avoid dialysis for Sarah’s failing kidney.
The couple and their children, Rosie (16) and Alex (11), were then essentially on standby with staff at Raigmore Hospital’s renal unit and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary backing them every step of the way.
The initial April 4 date set for the operation came as a huge relief. But an influx of emergencies to the busy Edinburgh hospital forced a postponement.
The ongoing anxiety for the family continued right up until the last minute as the re-arranged June 6 op was almost cancelled too as a result of the legionnaires’ outbreak that hit the capital.
However, the operation went ahead and has proved a success.
Said Ernest said: “We were both relieved that it was a success and that the kidney is performing and functioning as hoped for.
“We are still a little sore but are on the mend and at home. Sarah is just starting to get used to the new regime of medication which she now has to take to avoid rejecting the kidney.”
He paid heartfelt tribute to the medical staff of both hospitals who “reassured and informed us at every step of the way”. He said: “The care has been exemplary.”
He described the experience as “truly humbling” and paid tribute to everyone who has has helped them through the process.
One of many well-wishers touched by their plight told Ernest: “You’d already given Sarah your heart, so what was a kidney?”
Joked Ernest: “The kidney was never mine — I was only looking after it for her!”
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) lead nurse for living donation, Lisa Burnapp, told the Journal: “Around 40 pewr cent of all kidney transplants in the UK are now from living donors and the numbers are growing.
“Most living donor kidney transplants occur between family members and friends but more and more people are also recognising that they can donate a kidney without knowing who the recipient is.
“However, not everyone has someone who can donate to them and only some organs can be donated from a living person, so we still need more people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register and talk to their loved ones about donation in the event of their death.
“While almost 40 per cent of the Scottish population is now on the Organ Donor Register, there are still almost 800 people waiting for a transplant in Scotland.”
She said people can help increase the chances of these people getting the transplants they so urgently need by visiting www.organdonation.nhs.uk, calling 0300 123 23 23 or filling out an NHSBT leaflet, which can be found in libraries and GP surgeries.
