North Shields heart transplant survivor pays tribute to donors
A North Shields man whose life was saved by a heart transplant says donors and their families must never be forgotten.
A North Shields man whose life was saved by a heart transplant says donors and their families must never be forgotten.
It’s as a national memorial is being unveiled today at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, paying tribute to the tens of thousands of organ and tissue donors across the UK who have saved and transformed lives.
The Gift of Life memorial also recognises their families and patients who have received an organ transplant or whose lives have been transformed by tissue donation.
It is hoped it will draw attention to nearly 6,500 people still waiting for a transplant and those who have died because no organ was available for them.
Scott Rutherford's heart failed when he was just 14 and had a lifesaving heart transplant soon after. He said:
“I was told that without a transplant I was going to die. It got to a point where I couldn’t get up and downstairs, I couldn’t brush my own teeth, I couldn’t tie my shoelaces, I was blue, I just basically was like a floating shell, I didn’t feel alive at all.”
Five years after his lifesaving operation, Scott met his donor’s parents by chance at a service in Jesmond. He continued:
“Brilliantly, we were brought together… We just fell into each other’s arms and cuddled and cried.”
“I took Freda’s hand and held it to my chest and then John Snr put his hand on top of hers and I put my two hands on top of theirs. We just stood for about a minute in this church in complete serene silence as we felt John beating away.”