Stockton Dad Backs Organ Donation After Life-Saving Transplant

A Stockton dad who received a life-saving transplant is urging people to start talking more about organ donation.

Tiler Jamie Hauxwell was only 12 when he developed a rare inherited disorder called Carolis Disease, which caused his liver to shut down.

He said: "At the time I was really ill, you couldn't really see a future.I was constantly in and out of hospital"

Fortunately he did not have to wait long on the organ donor waiting list and received a new liver from an anonymous donor in Bristol.

Now the 37-year-old has a full-time job, his wife Claire and his 6-year-old daughter Jaime.

He says he'll never forget his donor: "Pretty much every day I still think about my donor's family.Obviously someone had to die for me to live but if they hadn't made that choice, I'd have died as well. I'll be forever grateful to my donor and their family."

He's urging people across the region to break the taboo of organ donation and have discussions with their loved ones about what will happen when they die.

New NHS figures show for the first time in 11 years, the number of people donating their organs has dropped.

Last year 28 people in our region had their lives transformed through deceased organ donation, but 118 are currently still waiting for a transplant.

The UK has one of the lowest rates in Europe for organ donation with only 58 per cent consenting to donation last year.

Anthony Clarkson, NHS Blood and Transplant’s Assistant Director for Organ Donation and Nursing, is trying to get more people talking for National Tranplant Week, which runs from 7th-13th Septmber

He said: “As a nation we’re happy sharing dreams of big money wins and bucket-list holidays, and we’ll confide in our loved ones our worries about how we look."

"Yet too many of us are still not making the time or are not comfortable talking about organ donation."

“Telling your loved ones you want to be an organ donor means your family will be in no doubt about your decision meaning your wishes will be fulfilled should you die in circumstances where organ donation is possible."