http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/features/GAVE-GIFT-LIFE-MET/article-1248387-detail/article.html
A PLYMOUTH woman who anonymously donated her kidney has revealed why she chose to give the gift of life to a complete stranger.
Julie Saunders from West Park went through six months of tests, both physical and mental, and a gruelling operation last year – but says she has no regrets and feels healthier than ever.
She now wants to let the public know how important it is to sign up to the organ donation register, which allows doctors to help others by using your organs after you die.
“Giving up my kidney was meant to be and, although it was painful, I have no regrets,” said the 43 year-old.
“Everyone has the ability to give the gift of life and I wanted to be alive when my body is healthy and can fully help others.”
Julie decided to give the organ after an eye disease, Kerataconus, meant she needed a cornea transplant to help save her eye sight.
Her transplant operation in 2000 left her with 12 stitches in her eye ball which remained for three years while her body ‘took’ to the new tissue. Her eyesight has since rapidly improved.
“I was so grateful to receive my cornea,” she said.
“People say the eyes are the windows to your soul and going through the operation made me realise that sight is everything.”
She added: “I love art and photography and get excited by seeing the sunset and looking at clouds.”
“Since that operation I couldn’t stop thinking about donating something of mine,” she said.
Altruistic donation is one of the new types of donation that the Human Tissue Authority has allowed since 2006 and involves a living person, who has never met the possible recipient, becoming a donor.
Julie says her experience helped her make a decision but there was another factor.
After seeing someone very close to her go through an illness for many years, she felt helpless not being able to do anything.
“I know how it feels to be at mercy without any control over the health of your body,” she said.
“I finally decided that I had to do something positive. I can’t help him but I thought I could at least help save someone else.
“Hopefully if there’s any karma in the world, it might come back to help the person close to me.”
She added: “Besides, I don’t view it as a sacrifice, I view it as a gift.”
“I feel so passionately about getting people onto the donor register and families talking about their wishes before they die so that it’s not a taboo subject anymore.”
“All life is precious. The fact that I wasn’t related to the person doesn’t make their life any less valuable.”
The advantages of a living donation are extra time to plan the procedure and opportunities to test people and find the perfect match.
When patients receive organs from someone who’s died doctors have just two hours to transfer the organs.
Julie went through months of tests, scans and psychological assessment to ensure she was ready. She said the process was so thorough and gave her and her family proper time to get used to the idea and answer any questions.
She said: “I was so well informed and I never felt pressured at any point and they always made it clear that I could opt out if I wanted to.”
Julie had many burning issues to consider before making a decision on the donation. One of these was that she had no control over who her kidney ended up with.
“It could have been given to a murderer in prison and my family wondered about that,” she said.
“But I didn’t want to judge. I figure that if someone had got to the stage where they needed a kidney from someone, it may help them to turn their lives around and do something positive.”
She also had to consider how she’d feel if her remaining kidney started to fail or if her family members needed a kidney from her.
“I have no children to worry about and I have a huge family including five brothers and sisters. I know if something were to happen, that one of them would be able to help, but you can’t worry about the what-ifs.”
After deciding she wanted to go ahead with the operation in January 2008, she finally had the all-clear by September.
She said: “The day I was told I could do it, someone I knew died. It was as if I was meant to do it. It’s not for everyone but for me it was something I had to do. I felt so excited!”
She had her operation in October and has never looked back.
“The operation turned my life around and made me look at things in a new way,” she said.
“It made me appreciate what I’ve got in my family and it forced me not put things off anymore. It’s also let me realise how important my body is and how to take care of it and keep healthy, I’ve never felt better.”
Dr Peter Rowe, Consultant Nephrologist at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The donors I have come across are genuinely altruistic, they decide that, on balance, donating is unlikely to do them harm but will transform someone else’s life.”
“The Independent Assessment process makes sure that the donor understands the risks involved. We only carry out this type of procedure if we are sure it is as safe as possible for the donor.”
Julie added: “I know my kidney is perfectly healthy after the thorough going over I had, so it’s unlikely to fail. If it did I would know it was meant to be and hopefully there might be someone around to donate me a kidney!” she joked.
She added: “There’s nothing to say you can’t live a healthy life without a kidney, I say the extra one is a spare!
“But seriously, my aunt lost a kidney in her 30s and is now in her 70s and doing fine”
Out-of-the-blue she was contacted through the transplant unit and told the person who received the kidney had sent her a card.
She said: “It said “you’ve given me back my life”. This made me cry, Julie said. “I keep the card on the side all the time to remind me of why it was a good thing to do.”
“I didn’t do it to feel good about myself but there’s no doubt that you feel a huge amount of satisfaction and contentment from helping to improve someone’s life. It has given me the impieties to take charge of my own life and live it to the full and appreciate everything that I’ve got.”