Salisbury mum who had heart transplant urges people to discuss organ donation
62 people in Wiltshire are on the waiting list for a transplant
A Salisbury mum who had a heart transplant is reminding people of the importance of discussing organ donation with your family.
Carla Gair suffered a cardiac arrest age 30 in 2007 on a night out with friends at The Chapel nightclub.
The mum of two learnt she suffered from Dilated Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart’s ability to pump blood is decreased.
Carla's health deteriorated and with end stage heart failure she was transferred to Papworth Hospital in 2014 and put on the urgent transplant list.
Just weeks before Christmas Carla received a new heart.
The 46 year old told Greatest Hits Radio she thinks of her donor and their family 'every day.'
"You have their heart beating inside you and your very conscious of that, the difference between that and your old failing heart as well. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here.
"I've seen my children grow up, they've still had a mum. They are now young adults, we've had an eighteenth birthday and a 21st birthday and without organ donation I wouldn't be here to witness that."
Figures released this week show there are currently 62 Wiltshire residents on the waiting list for a transplant and 138 in Hampshire.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) says last year across both counties 71 people who died donated an organ or in some cases multiple organs.
Whilst England changed to an opt out system two years ago NHSBT says it's important to have the conversation with your family and to register on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Your family will always be asked to support your decision before organ donation goes ahead, and clinicians will never proceed if your family objects.
Carla says organ donation is often seen as a taboo subject and wants to see more people having conversations;
"The power is still with the loved ones, it's still a decision that only they can make. If you haven't talked about your decision with them it's just going to make it so, so difficult."