Ross-shire transplant man issues heartfelt plea to help change lives
A ROSS-SHIRE man who dashed to hospital in an early-morning transplant drama spoke out this week of the “life-changing” difference it has made.
In a remarkable twist of fate, Rory Mair’s phone call to alert his wife moments before he went under the surgeon’s knife coincided exactly with her completion of a gruelling Land’s End to John o’Groats cycle for the charity researching his condition.
And now Mr Mair is appealing to others to sign up for organ donation to help change the lives of others, some in life or death situations.
Illustrating the difference the donation of a liver had made to his life, the 55-year-old from Rosemarkie was able to complete the Great Wilderness Challenge with the rest of his family just four weeks after surgery.
After his liver problem was diagnosed three years ago, Mr Mair, a former chief executive of Ross and Cromarty District Council, faced a waiting game to determine whether a transplant would be necessary.
Appealing to others to formalise their wish to help someone else after their death, Mr Mair said: “Although you have not got a terminal disease, ultimately if you don’t get a transplant it is terminal. If there are not enough organs available in Scotland, then it does become a life or death situation.”
He plans to write to the family of the donor who changed his life to offer his heartfelt thanks at the appropriate time.
While his relatively rare blood group made finding a suitable match potentially challenging, his early-morning call to get himself to hospital in Edinburgh came six months after he was added to the transplant list.
He said: “They phoned at 3.30am and asked if I’d be able to get to hospital for 8am. I felt okay to drive myself and called my wife Gay at lunchtime from the operating theatre. As it turned out, she was at John O’Groats, having just finished the charity cycle run from Land’s End that she was doing.”
One of the charities benefiting was the British Liver Trust, which is working to reduce the impact of liver disease in the UK through support, information and research.
Mr Mair and his family added their names to the organ donation register three years ago.
Urging others to consider doing the same, he said: “I accept and respect the fact some people don’t want to donate for personal reasons. However, I know there’s also a big group of people who do wish to donate but have not done anything about it yet. There is a problem if no-one knows someone’s wishes.
“That can lead to pressure for the family at a very difficult time. My appeal to people would be to get on the register — it’s very quick and easy.
“In this country we are relatively lucky. But if you are in an emergency situation where your liver has failed and you know you might be dead in 24 hours if a replacement is not found, that is a very difficult position to be in.”
Asked if he knew anything about his donor, he said he had not been given the full details yet.
But he said: “I intend to write to thank the family and let them know they made a very brave decision which changed someone’s life.”
He now hopes to return to his work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), just seven weeks after the operation.
Gay, who has completed a remarkable 20 Great Wilderness Challenges — once winning the 25-mile race — paid tribute on her fundraising page to everyone who had contributed.
She said: “As we rolled into John o’Groats on our bikes, Rory rolled into theatre to receive his new liver. He is making a fantastic recovery and was out of hospital within 10 days of surgery. His colour has gone from a spectacular daffodil yellow to a delicate shade of pink.”
Pauline O’Brien of NHS Blood and Transplant, said there are 7.500 people on the transplant list nationally and generally up to 10,000 who need an organ. In Highland, four people are awaiting a match for a liver transplant. A total of 23 people in the Highlands, as of July, were awaiting an organ transplant.
Ms O’Brien said: “The key messages are for people to talk to their families and next of kin about their wishes and that joining the register is very simple.”
More information can be found online at www.?organdonation.nhs.uk
