I've had a few volunteers willing to speak to the media and set up their own Donor Desks, keep them coming! The more the merrier!

So I am busy contacting various people about Donor Day, creating lists and lists of things to do! As well as trying to fit in some uni work!

I appeared in my Local Warrington Guardian today, click here to see the article. Battlefront got a mention which was great. I deliberately didn't mention Donor Day as I thought I could milk it and maybe get another mention in the paper nearer the time haha!

My Mum and Dad managed to get in on the action too with a picture of them with me in recovery! (not very flattering of me, but hey!)

Other news...

Today is Abigail's (my neice) half birthday! Can't believe how quickly the past 6months have gone!
She had her first suck of chocolate to celebrate! Here she is before....

and after....

I decided that I needed a break from the campaigning stuff and Uni work! I felt like I hadn't done anything FUN for a while or anything too strenuous since my transplant so I went Ice-Skating!

Mum and Dad took me and decided they would skate too! Well that didn't last long, Mum stood on the ice (not moving) for 5 minutes and then got off. Dad made slightly more progress and shuffled about 5 yards and then gave up! As for me... I had a great time and didn't fall over once!

Here is me on the Ice...



I would never have been able to do this pre-transplant! It has made me think about other stuff that I want to do in the future. I am going to make a list and post it as a blog when I get round to it! Planning things in advance was a no-no before transplant and so was being spontaneous so it was a lose lose situation. I can't believe how much my life has changed!

As I said in the article... I couldn’t be spontaneous before and just go away for the weekend because of the dialysis. I feel much healthier now. I don’t know where the donor came from but they have given me a second chance for which I will be grateful for the rest of my life.

Filming, Fun, Tears and Laughter....

So off I went again down to London on Monday! We set off after I had been to clinic and arrived at the Travelodge in London at 3.30 which left plenty of time to visit Oxford Street for a bit of window shopping and a bite to eat. We then headed off to Harrods which was great.

I have had my transplant 4months today, I still can’t believe I am able to do all these things now and be so spontaneous! It’s a strange feeling having sore feet before getting out of breath and feeling tired myself! As you can see from the picture my mum and I soaked our feet in the bath when we got back to soothe them a bit!

Tuesday morning we walked from the Travelodge to the underground and then headed into London (Goodge Street) to meet up with the crew from Battlefront and Oli Barrett (my BF mentor) He took us to One Alfred Place where we had a really interesting and productive meeting with Amy McClaren from Colman Getty.

Amy is a PR expert with some great tips on campaigning, press releases and my event in general! I am also excited to say that she has agreed to be an E-mentor for me so I can contact her via email to ask her for help which is great and I will certainly be taking her up on her offer! Lots of things to do with the day were discussed, nothing was set in stone yet but as soon as I know anything of course you will be the first to know!

After the meeting Rosie and Tom from Battlefront drove us to pick up the lovely Emily T from Surrey (stopping for a sausage butty on the way, very glamorous! Haha).

We then travelled on down to Kent to interview Jessica Wales who had kindly offered to be filmed for my campaign, she is currently waiting for a double lung transplant and has been for the past 3 ½ years! In that time she has had 5 false alarms (where the call comes, but the transplant doesn’t go ahead) she is a real tough cookie and has a great sense of humour! Her and her family were so friendly and welcoming, so I would like to say thank you for that.

Jessica has Cystic Fibrosis and was diagnosed at about 4 months old and began the daily medications and treatments to try and keep her well, but she was in and out of hospital regularly with chest infections. When you are listed for a double lung transplant you are usually given a prognosis, Jess was given 2 years without a transplant she has already outlived her prognosis which shows her determination and how desperate she is to survive.

Meeting Jess and hearing about her illness and the restrictions it places on her daily, really hit home with me, I don’t mind admitting I did get a bit emotional watching her struggle to breath (Jess even apologised for making me cry). Although we have “waiting on the list” in common I can never relate it to my situation as I was being kept alive by dialysis, Jess doesn’t have that luxury, for her it really is a matter of life and death.

It was a strange feeling, I almost felt guilty that I had had my transplant and questioned why Jess still had not had hers, I know Jess wouldn’t want me to feel like that but I couldn’t help it. I could have survived on dialysis for many more years yet, while Jess, without a transplant will die. I don’t know how she copes but she does with such strength and humour. The afternoon, although serious, was full of gossip and giggles, in fact we got told off for not staying on topic, personally I blame Emily for this!

To all those people who haven’t signed the Organ Donor Register because they don’t want to think about death and dying, you should look at Jess , Everyday she has to face the fact that without a transplant she will die so surely you could think about your own mortality for 2 minutes while you sign the register.

Jessica says “A transplant to me would mean the world. Not only would I get back my life but my family would get back the girl they used to know.”

Jess is 19, she has so much she wants to do with her life, she’s funny and bubbly, has a zest for life and is a true inspiration. She (along with over 8000 other people on the transplant waiting list) is the reason I am doing this campaign, and the reason more people should sign up to be Organ Donors.

16 Million People on the Organ Donor Register!

As I said in my previous blog Organ Donation was definitely a hot topic in the news today!

Click Here to see the BBC News article.

16 Million people have now signed up to donate their organs after their death, this has doubled since the 8 million that were on the register in 2001! In 2001, former Health Secretary Alan Milburn urged people to sign up to double the number from eight million then to 16 million in 2010, so that target has been achieved and a year early!

More than 1.6 million people in Scotland have agreed to donate their organs after death, more than any other part of the UK. (Click Here) The article features a young boy called Aaron who received a new liver and small bowel in 2000. His mum does continuous work to raise awareness of the importance of Organ Donation and set up the website transplantkids.co.uk to support children and families affected by transplantation and Organ Donation.


Health minister, Ann Keen, said: "It is fantastic news that 16 million people have put their names on the Organ Donor Register. But there is still much to do. We remain firmly committed to helping many more people benefit from a transplant and want to see organ donation rates rise significantly over the next four years from the current 800 donors to 1,400 per year by March 2013."

To read more about it Click Here.

Obviously all this is great news, but there is still a short fall in the amount of transplants taking place. There are over 8000 people on the transplant waiting list but over 1000 of these people will die this year waiting (thats 3 a day) as only 3000 transplants take place each year.

Hopefully this campaign get make a difference, and get people talking about organ donation or even better signing up to the organ donor register! (Click on the card below to sign up)



In other news... I wasn't able to go to London, as I have been Ill all week, I'm so disappointed as I was really looking forward to meeting my mentor Oli and taking the campaign a step further. Another date for my trip down will be arranged when I'm up to it!

Happy New Year Everyone!

The New Year got off to a great start as I received a phone call on New Year's Eve to say that my blood results are the best they have ever been! My creatinine was 161 (previously 187, and when on dialysis in the 1000's) My Haemoglobin was 12, and my White Blood Count was normal. This is being closely monitored at the moment as they have reintroduced the drug (in a small dose) that made it go haywire before! This meant extra trips to the hospital for tests, but it is worth it in the long run, because as soon as I am settled on the drugs they will hopefully reduce my steroids and I will look less like a chipmonk! Lets have a quick game of spot the difference....




I spent New Years at my Brother's in-laws house which would not have been possible had i not received my transplant, as I would have had to attend dialysis with it being a Wednesday night! I had a great night, we had a takeaway and saw in the new year with some champers! Click here to see some pics of the evening!

While I'm here I also wanted to tell you that I received a reply from 10 Downing street regarding my Battlefront campaign and Organ Donation.

The letter wasn't written by the Prime Minister himself... but it did say "Mr Brown was sorry to hear of your health difficulties."

It went on to discuss the suggested opt out system...

"In its report, the Taskforce does not recommend introducing an opt out system for organ donation in the UK at the present time. The Taskforce felt that whilst it would have the potential to deliver benefits, it would present significant challenges that may not be necessary in order to deliver the desired increase in organ donation rates.

The Government has accepted this, but in the light of the Taskforce’s view that donor rates can be optimised successfully without a change in the legal framework, has set a challenge to see 20 million people on the Organ Donor Register by 2010 working towards 25million by 2013."

The reply was useful and it seems that the government are committed to increasing the number of people joining the Organ Donor Register...

"The Government is firmly committed to seeing organ donation rates rise significantly and is fully supporting the implementation of the recommendations in the Taskforce’s first report. A large programme of work is already underway, which includes:

• Each Trust appointing an organ donation ‘champion’ to discuss organ donation with families as part of end of life care where appropriate;
• Recruiting new donor transplant co-ordinators across the UK; and
• Establishing a UK-wide network of organ retrieval teams across the UK to ensure timely and high quality organ removal from viable donors."

I was however disappointed that the letter did not mention the campaign whatsoever,
No mention of Battlefront, nothing!!!

Oh well a reply is better than being ignored I suppose!

Bye for now x

So sorry I've been quiet...

It just goes to show the difference IVY is making to my life already! I really don't know how I found time to dialyse before! I've been out and about shopping, doing uni work and on the 11th December I went in for a little operation to have the stent removed from my kidney (used to keep vein open where it is joined to the bladder), It was under General anesthetic, all went well and it was over in about 45mins.

I even a managed a night out on the town last night with the girls from uni! (Don't worry though I didn't over do it, I was in bed by 1am)! I have also been busy along with Holly's Helpers trying to push forward with the Battlefront - The Gift of Life campaign!

On the Kidney front, everything seems to be going well, my creatinine is 182 and my HB is looking more normal again! All in all I seem to have a lot more energy than before, I can cram lots of stuff into one day rather than having to pick and choose what to do, to conserve my energy! I went to the Hospital on Monday and spent most of the day there as I had to have my bloods taken before 10, had a ultrasounds scan on my fistula (which was fine) at 10.30 and then clinic at 1 (although it was nearer 2.30 when I went in.) So I'm down to weekly appointments now... although they have asked me to pop in for my bloods (before I take my immunos) so they can check the level of tacrolimus in my system, these results take 24hours and so they will be ready for when I go to clinic on Monday! This saves me going in on Monday morning to get them done and then waiting around for clinic in the afternoon.

The Battlefront campaign is coming along well thanks to Emily and Holly's Helpers, we have lots of exciting ideas on how to get the word about organ donation out there! I'm getting more hands on myself which is great. So here is what we have achieved so far...

• We are in the process of getting a logo made - (proofs can be seen on my bebo page)
• I have written to my local MP's, MEP's and even the Prime Minister Gordon Brown himself.
• We have announced our big "Sign up" day which will be 6th May 2009 and we hope to get some celebs on board with this, and of course you guys!!!
• The campaign has appeared in the National Guardian and the Big Issue.
• We now have a link to the organ donor register straight from my Battlefront page Click here to have a look. This will be a great way of measuring how many people have clicked through to the ODR via the link!
  
• I now have a mentor to help get the campaign going, Emily is hopefully meeting the man himself, Oli Barrett on Friday. Click here to read more about him!
• We have lots of videos and photos up on both the Bebo and the Battlefront pages, so go and check them out!

So if you have any more ideas on how to get the word out there please get in touch, via here, Bebo, or drop me a comment on the Battlefront page... its always great to hear your thoughts/views/opinions!

Battlefront

Here is my slide show to promote my battlefront campaign - The Gift of Life... enjoy and please pass it on.

Also here is a link to my Battlefront bebo page... click on it to get all the latest updates on the battlefront campaign and to read my bebo blog!

HollyBattlefronthttp://www.bebo.com/holly_thegiftoflife

Thanks for your support x

Hello strangers!

I feel really bad for neglecting the blog but things have been a bit manic recently!

So a quick update....

On the kidney front, things are going well, results are all going in the right direction and more importantly I'm starting to feel the benefits! I have had 4 doses of IV Iron to boost my Hemoglobin levels which are low. This seems to have helped, it's still not normal but it is much improved, I am also meant to have a drug called aranesp which will also build up my HB but my blood pressure has been too high for me to have this so we have to wait for that to sort itself before I can start on the aranesp. I have been put on 2 different blood pressure tablets to try and lower it but the docs think the main reason for it being high is the amount of fluid I have on board. At my worst I was 10kg over my dry weight!!!! Luckily I have been put on water tablets (frusimide) to get some of the fluid off, this is doing the trick and I can finally see my ankles!!! Sadly it won't do anything for my steroid "Moonface" but hey hopefully that will go down when the steroids are reduced, and anyway its worth it!

The downside to this is I'm going to the toilet every 15minutes, meaning I can't go out much, but hopefully I won't be on them for too long and I'll be able to get out and about again soon!

I went to the hospital today and I didn't even have to wait around for my blood results, which is great!!! They said they would ring... they haven't but I'm not worried as no news is good news! They told me I don't need to go back till Thursday so I'm down to twice weekly visits which is great! I've also been booked in for a little operation (day case) on 11th December to get the stent removed out of Ivy (my kidney). This will be done under General Anesthetic, but from start to finish should only take half an hour. Also going for an ultrasound scan on my fistula on 15th Dec, even though I'm not using it anymore it still has to be checked to make sure it's still working and not narrowing again.


In other news the Battlefront campaign is really going full steam ahead, thanks to Emily and "Holly's Helpers" to find out more click here. I also have a bebo page up and running so to have a nosey at that too click here and add me as a friend! All ideas are under wraps at the minute but I'll let you know as soon as possible about any developments!
I'm also busy trying to do a piece of uni work so I don't get to far behind! So its all go, go, go at the minute, I don't know how I managed to fit in dialysis before, the freedom is great! I can't believe its only just over 5 weeks and the difference is noticable already.

I promise to update this more often! Thanks for all your supportive messages! x

Please Keep Voting...

Just a little reminder to keep voting for my "Gift of Life" organ donation campaign!

I have slipped from the top spot for the first time since I uploaded my campaign! I'm in 4th place at the minute, It isn't essential for me to finish first to win the competition (have to finish in the top 10) but it would be nice!

You can vote by clicking here!

Thanks x

National Transplant Week

This week marks the 18th National Transplant week, the theme of the 2008 campaign is "Jump on Board" the NHS Organ Donor Register and join the 15million people that have already signed up.

Transplants in Mind's aim is to get more than 80,000 new names on the Organ Donor Register. The launch is today at the London Transport Museum, the donor bus will be there encouraging people to sign up and volunteers will be on hand to offer information and advice.

Since 1 April 2008:

• 220 people have donated organs
• an additional 452 people have donated corneas
• 661 people have received the gift of sight
• 655 people have received transplants
• 7,757 people are still waiting for transplants
  

To join the Organ Donor Register and join the 15,500,596 people – 25% of the population who already have click here.

Thanks x

I had an amazing day on Sunday!

We left the house at around 11.30 after a few detours we did finally make it only to find that neither Emily and Emma were there yet anyway! They both turned up about 15 minutes later along with Emma's husband Brad! It was great to meet them all, a little strange as we keep in contact via the internet and I felt I knew them already!

The tournament itself was organised to a T and went without a hitch, thanks to Paula (Ste's mum, who I mentioned in my previous post). The Tighe family made a courageous decision to donate Ste's organs after his death, he saved a total of 5 lives and his legacy lives on in those 5 people today! What an amazing gift to give!

We sold lots of ducks in aid of LLTGL for the Great British Duck Race , if you want more info click here.

We also managed to sign at least 30 people up to the Organ Donor Register, so if one more life has been saved due to Sunday thats fab! If you want to join them you can register here.

All in all it was an amazing day and I met loads of great and inspiring people that make you feel greatful for what you've got! (Thanks Em, Em and Brad, much love x)
Will leave you with some pictures....

Emily, Me and Emma!

Brad wanted some peace and quiet, we lasted a whole 10 seconds!


Emma, Brad and Emily

Emma, Me, Emily and Paula (Ste's Mum)

P.S Quote of the day.... "I don't mind becoming a donor, as long as they don't take my sausage!"

So I've finally got my uni assignment done! Yay! That means this time next week, I'll be finished for the summer, WOO HOO!

Back to other things I'm really excited about tomorrow as there is a big fundraiser taking place in Liverpool for Live Life Then Give Life! We are going to hand out lots of organ donor leaflets and hopefully sign a few people up as well! It is held annually in memory of a special young man called Ste Tighe who you can read about here. The event is called the Littlewoods Ste Tighe 5-a-side football tournament and has featured in a local article which can be seen here.

All the funds raised will be going to Live Life Then Give Life, last year they raised £3500 so hopefully we'll be able to match it tomorrow! The local press will probably be involved too which will be good. Another exciting thin about tomorrow is that I will finally get to meet up with Emma and Emily the people who run LLTGL, I talk to them so much and feel I know them yet we have never even met, so that will be fun!

Anyway will let you know how it goes and how much we raise for a great cause!

Last night I went to a wedding reception straight from dialysis, Mum had been to the wedding in the day but I was working all day so I couldn't go. It was a lovely night, the weather was so nice we were able to sit out in the garden of the pub! It wasn't a late one, we were home by 10.30 as we had an early start this morning!

The picture below is of me (looking a bit dopey after dialysis) and the bride!


We had to get up early because me and my parents had been invited to go to a 3d scan of my niece! It was absolutely amazing, so clear and detailed, you could see all her tiny fingers and toes, it even looked like she was smiling at one point! We saw he heart and heard it beating too! I paid for the scan, DVD and pictures as a pre-baby present for my bro and his wife. I can't wait for her to arrive, only 102 days to go...



In other news, I received an email from the charity Transplants In Mind telling me that I feature in this months edition of their newsletter! Not too keen on the picture but hey if it gets one more person to sign the organ donor register than thats fine by me! To read the news letter click here, I appear on page 4!

My first official duty as Live Life Then Give Life North West advocate took place today...

My mum prompted me to email in to a programme called Sunday Life that was discussing the issue of organ donation! I did this last night and sat down to watch the programme this morning not expecting a response to my email but to my surprise the presenter read it out!!! To say I was chuffed was an understatement! Heres what Louise Minchin said...

"Thank you Holly Shaw for your email as well, she says she is waiting for a kidney transplant and has recently become an advocate for Live Life Then Give Life and she says a transplant would change my life completely and allow me to enjoy the things other people take for granted. She goes on to say, she hopes todays programme will encourage more people to sign the NHS organ donor register!"


Really pleased I emailed in, and don't forget to visit the Live Life Then Give Life website!


As I type I am sat here with rollers in preparing for my night out in Blackpool tonight!

This article appeared on a Warrington Website which discusses news in the local area...

Brave Holly's plea for organ donors

Published 05/05/08 7:00 am

by James Parr

A BRAVE Warrington woman has been named as a Key Advocate for charity Live Life Then Give Life.
Holly Shaw, who suffers from kidney failure, has been named a Key Advocate for the North West by the charity.
The 21-year-old, who has been on the waiting list for a kidney transplant for three years, has worked tirelessly alongside the charity for some time and they felt it was only right her efforts were recognised.

She said: "I am really proud to be an advocate for Live Life Then Give Life. The gift of life is so important and a transplant could give me back my life; dialysis is a life saver but also a life sentence. With a new kidney I wouldn't have to do the treatment but most of all I would just feel normal and well again."
Holly, who is a student at the University of Chester, has to visit hospital for dialysis three times a week and is not allowed to drink more than 500ml of fluid a day.
She is now appealing to the people of Warrington and other North West towns to sign up for NHS Organ Donor Register.

Vice-chairman of Live Life Then Give Life Emily Thackray said: "Holly currently spends three days a week in hospital on dialysis and is only allowed to drink 500ml of fluid per day. She has a daily battle with her health but is so enthusiastic and constantly offers to do more to help us promote and raise awareness about organ donation. We are thrilled to have Holly as our advocate for the North West."

More than 8,000 people in the UK require and organ donation, but due to the severe shortage in donors, 1,000 people died last year in need of a transplant.
Anyone who wants to sign up on the donor register can do so by visiting www.uktransplant.org.uk or by phoning the Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400.

That squirrel died with a nut in its hand...

Sorry for the lack of blogging, I've had a mad busy few weeks....

First I started my work placement at a local Primary School and I'm loving every minute of it, even if the kids do ask me questions I don't know how to answer in a suitable way!? I'm with year 2's so they have a wealth of information but are still so innocent at the same time, which is just right for their age. I'm doing this for the next 10 weeks and I'm working Monday all day, Wednesday all day and half a day Friday which is great as I feel ok when I wake up in the morning as I have not had dialysis the night before. So all is going well with work, its tiring but great fun and I am impressed with myself that after the 4th day I knew all the kids names in the class (29 of them)!!!

So the topics for this week have been story writing (about a magic leaf) and woodland animals, one of the activities for the kids was them looking at stuffed animals and writing down the features of them! There was a red squirrel, a badger, a fox, a mole, a cuckoo and an owl, I had to pretend these were great, whereas in reality they were pretty freaky! The teacher had to sensitively explain the concept of stuffing an animal, and that they are real animals that were once alive, some children found it hard to grasp this and proceeded to ask me questions like why are they so still? and how did this one die? but the best comment of the day was a kid who said "wow, that squirrel died with a nut in its hand, cool!" It brought a smile to my face but then I had to explain that it probably didn't die with a nut in its hand that the person that stuffed it put it there and glued it in place! Next I was told I looked like the badger because I was wearing a black and white stripy top, So I survived looking at the stuffed animals, and I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow morning and seeing what my next challenge will be!

In other news... to my surprise I appeared in my local paper today (The Warrington Guardian) I had completely forgotten that Emily (from LLTGL) had sent a press release out about me becoming the regional advocate for her charity. The paper hadn't been in touch and so I really wasn't expecting it and obviously it came as a nice surprise and will raise awareness for a great charity, the article isn't online so I will type it up for you to have a look at...



Holly Helps Organ Charity

A life spent hooked up to a dialysis machine is what faces 21-year-old Holly Shaw, but instead of dwelling on it she has thrown her efforts into working for an organ donation charity. Now her hard work has been rewarded and she has been made Live Life Then Give Life's key advocate for the North West.
"I am really proud to be an advocate for Live Life Then Give Life," said Holly, from Westbrook. "The gift of life is so important and a transplant could give me back my life; dialysis is a life saver but also a life sentence. With a new kidney I wouldn't have to do the treatment but most of all I would just feel normal and well again," She said.
Holly has been waiting for a kidney for three years. Her dialysis treatment leaves her feeling tired and nauseous and she can only drink 500ml of fluid a day. More than 8,000 people in the UK need an organ transplant. To sign on to the NHS organ Donor Register go to http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ or call 0845 60 60 400. Go to http://www.livelifethengivelife.co.uk/ to find out more about Holly's campaign.



So thats all the news really... dialysis has been ok, diet is going well and I'm feeling quite well at the moment, I'm looking forward to a night out on Sunday with my friends and family for my 21st Birthday (which is on Tuesday) should be lots of fun, and I'll post about all the antics sometime next week!

Uni article...

When I was first asked to write this piece I was wondering how an earth I would fit 3 years of my life into one page but I’ll give it a try.

It all started just after Christmas in 2004. I was taken ill suddenly and was rushed into hospital. Various blood tests and injections took place and eventually a scan of my kidneys which showed they had shrunk and were no longer doing the job they were supposed to. I was told I had End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF) and needed to go on dialysis immediately and I would remain on this for the foreseeable future (3x a week) until a suitable donor kidney was found for a transplant. This came as a huge shock for both me and my family and we were all facing an uncertain future.

So 3 years on we are still facing that uncertain future - I am still on dialysis 3 x a week for 3 hours at a time and I’m still waiting for that phone call saying the transplant is going to take place. My mum went through the tests to see if she could become a donor for me but she wasn’t suitable. My family have been so supportive throughout this and I can’t thank them enough.

Having dialysis means I have to stick to a strict fluid restriction of 500mls per day and a special diet (low in phosphate, sodium and potassium) and also have to take various tablets each day. The dialysis itself is restrictive, time-consuming and has unpleasant side-effects. I have low energy levels, tire easily and suffer almost constant nausea. The actual haemodialysis itself takes its toll, it involves two needles inserted into my fistula which is a surgically enlarged vein (located in my upper arm).This provides access to the bloodstream for haemodialysis. The fistula buzzes all the time which is a good thing as this means the blood is flowing through it freely.

Haemodialysis removes waste products from the blood by passing it out of the body, through a filtering system called a dialyser and returning it, cleaned, to the body as well as removing fluid from my body (another job the kidneys should do) It leaves me feeling wiped out and very often light headed however it’s the only thing that can keep me alive unless I get a transplant.

It’s not all doom and gloom. I have met so many great people because of my situation, my fellow dialysis patients and of course the nurses who do an amazing job of looking after me and essentially keeping me alive. I try not to let all this get in the way of everyday life. I am enjoying my Early Childhood studies degree although I sometimes struggle fitting the work load in with my hospital visits however the lecturers have been sympathetic regarding my attendance. My social life is not that of a normal student but I can’t complain, I have understanding friends who are very supportive.

I am also proud to be an ambassador for the Live Life Then Give Life charity who do amazing work by promoting organ donation by putting on various events and selling cool T-shirts with catchy slogans on such as “I’d give you one”. (http://www.livelifethengivelife.co.uk/)

I would love to have my health and freedom back. I’ve got so much I want to do with my life but without a kidney transplant I just don’t know what the future will hold. I just have to keep hoping that one day I’ll receive the greatest gift of all – the Gift of Life. That call could come next week, next month or even in 5 years time! Over 8000 people in the UK like me need an organ transplant to save or radically improve their lives. However due to the chronic shortage of donors 450 people die each year waiting. The ever growing demand for transplants means that waiting lists are rising each year. When asked 90% of people say they agree with organ donation but only just over 20% have signed the register!

So it’s a waiting game for me now, for that phone call that will transform my life.

To read more about my everyday life as a dialysis patient and life on the waiting list you can read my blog at http://lifeondialysis--waitingforthecall.blogspot.com/

And to sign the organ donor register you can visit
http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ or ring 0845 60 60 400

Newspaper article...

I have been asked to do an article for my university newspaper, I’m very excited about this as hopefully it will raise more awareness of kidney failure and organ donation.

I am struggling to fit the past 3 years of my life into 700 words and portray what life is like for me on dialysis. I want to put across how uncertain the future is whilst waiting on the transplant list the fact that the call could come at anytime, tomorrow, next week, next month or even in 5 years time!

If the article makes even one person sign the organ donor register then it will be worth it as over 8000 people in the UK like me need an organ transplant to save or radically improve their lives. However due to the chronic shortage of donors, 450 people die each year waiting. The ever growing demand for transplants means that waiting lists are rising each year. When asked 90% of people say they agree with organ donation but only just over 20% have signed the register!

To sign the organ donor register click here or ring 0845 60 60 400.

The big question...

Yesterday the BBC one programme the Big Questions came from my home town of Warrington!

So the big question was… Should live donors be encouraged to provide a kidney to the transplant service by offering them financial compensation?

Britain has a shortage of kidney donors. Around 6,000 people are currently waiting to receive a transplant. In desperation some patients are traveling abroad to buy kidneys from live donors. 25 years ago Iran decided to allow live donors to sell one of their kidneys for transplant and it is claimed that waiting lists were eradicated as a result.


I was asked to appear on the programme to debate this issue; I declined however a friend and fellow dialysis patient appeared on the programme. He stated that he did not agree with this. I am tempted to agree with him and feel that those in desperate need of money may be exploited and it could end up that they would feel pressured to donate. More education and promotion into organ donation is necessary and maybe in the future the opt-out system will be put into practice to improve the shortage of organs.

Click here to see the message board from the big questions, and people’s thoughts on the subject.


Any thoughts?