Published: Wednesday, 27th February, 2008 13:00
Waiting game for transplant hopefuls
By Kevin McRoberts
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Sauchi'e Sarah Murray has been waiting 18 months for a lung transplant.
Pic by: David Robertson
THERE are currently nine people from Clackmannanshire on UK transplant waiting lists.
Seven people, including 71-year-old Anne Duncombe, are waiting for kidney transplants.
One person is waiting for a life-saving heart transplant, and 23-year-old Sarah Murray, from Sauchie, has been on the list for 18 months waiting for a vital lung transplant.
According to UK Transplant statistics, in the last five years, seven people from the county have received organ transplants – four receiving new kidneys, one person undergoing a heart and lungs transplant and two others receiving liver transplants.
Tragically, in the same five year period, four people from Clackmannanshire have died while waiting for life-saving organ transplants.
Sarah Murray, who helped launch our ‘Sign Up for Life’ campaign in January by telling us about her need for a lung transplant, is encouraging more people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
She said, “Although 90 per cent of people say they would like to donate an organ, only around 25 per cent have done anything about it, so there is a huge gap.”
Sarah was born was with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder which affects her lungs and ability to breath, although the condition wasn’t diagnosed until she was two and a half years old.
Her life has revolved around clinic appointments, hospital admissions and medical treatment.
Although she now lives in her own flat, simple everyday tasks such as a trip to the supermarket or housework, are too much for her to tackle on her own.
She had to give up work at the age of 19 for health reasons. She had been a secretary for two years with Graham and Sibbald Surveyors in Stirling.
Sarah had to go to Newcastle’s Freemans Hospital to be assessed for the active lung transplant waiting list.
If she became too ill to undergo an organ transplant, she would be removed from the active list and placed on a suspended list, so it is vital she does everything to stay as healthy as possible.
The last two years have seen a deterioration in her condition and she desperately wants a transplant to improve her quality of life.
And, hopefully, once she has had her lung transplant, she will be able to fulfill one of her lifelong ambitions.
“I have always wanted to be a nurse, but I have had to put that on hold because of Cystic Fibrosis,” she said.
“After the transplant, if I can get my nursing qualifications, then I will have done something I have always wanted to do.
“It will still take me a couple of years to recover fully from the transplant and I will still have a shorter life expectancy than normal, but I would rather have a fantastic 10 years than another couple of years of getting progressively worse.”
Ann Duncombe’s life could also be transformed by a transplant.
She spends hours each week travelling back and forwards to Falkirk Royal Infirmary for kidney dialysis treatment – three days a week for four hours at a time.
Anne said, “At the moment dialysis means 18 to 20 hours a week out of my life by the time I include the travelling, and although in many ways dialysis is a miracle, it’s far from perfect.
“While you are on dialysis you have got to watch what you eat and drink and it will never be as good as a new kidney.
“I definitely don’t have the same get up and go that I used to have.
“I am happy to support Gordon Banks and the Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser in this campaign as there needs to be more of a drive to get people to sign up.
“Nearly everyone says that is a good idea but, being human, many of us never actually get round to taking that positive step and signing up.”
Anne added, “At the end of the day, heart and lung transplants are saving lives, and kidney transplants are giving people a much improved quality of life.”
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