As part of National Transplant Week, UHCW NHS Trust are urging people from Coventry and Warwickshire to sign the register...
Coventry City Season Ticket holder Sarah Lewis celebrated the 25th anniversary of her kidney transplant at the 3-2 win over Crewe Alexandra.
Yesterday marked the start of National Transplant Week and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust are urging people to join the NHS Organ Donation Register.
Sarah came back to University Hospital last month to help raise awareness and celebrate her 25th anniversary having been diagnosed with kidney failure in 1987 but waited three years on dialysis for a transplant.
After her trip to the University Hospital, Sarah went straight to the Ricoh Arena to celebrate her anniversary in style by watching the Sky Blues claim all three points.
Sarah said: She added: “It was a great game to celebrate at, and it was almost at the exact time when I would have been in theatre 25 years ago.
“I know I’m incredibly lucky because organ donation is such a precious and valuable gift.
It’s really important to remember that whilst I celebrate the 25th anniversary of my transplant, I know that somewhere a family is not having such a nice anniversary.”
Not certain how long her new kidney would last, Sarah said: “Doctors told me there was a 50% chance it would last five years and if it lasted ten it would be incredible. So to be here 25 years later is just amazing.
“For any transplant patients there’s a degree of uncertainty, so I’ve always felt like I’ve needed to make the most of my time, I’ve always packed things in. I’ve travelled all over the world to places I could have only dreamed of before like Australia, Japan and the States.”
UHCW NHS Trust Transplant Co-Ordinator Nick West said: “It’s a really special anniversary for Sarah as 25 years is a huge milestone to reach. It’s special for me too, as Sarah was the first transplant I’d co-ordinated, so it’s really great how well she is still doing today.
“There are many people in Coventry and Warwickshire who need organ transplants, and Sarah is living proof of what an amazing difference that organ donation can make to an individual in need.”
UHCW NHS Trust is trying to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation throughout National Transplant Week by using the hashtags on Twitter #NationalTransplantWeek and #SayIDonate.
Follow them at @nhsuhcw and if you’d like to join the organ donor register, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk