READERS REPORT (26) "ALL THE TRANSPLANTS WERE A SUCCESS"

'All the transplants were a success'

GERARD O'NEIL      03/02/2015

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GIFT OF LIFE: Seven people in three cities benefited from Gerard's sister-in-law's organ donations.

 Zealand has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the developed world. 

AUniversity of Canterbury researcher recently suggested thatliving donors should be financially compensated, but do you agree? 

Are you a living donor, or planning to donate your organs when you die? What made you decide? 

Maybe you're the recipient of an organ transplant? What do you think would encourage more people to be organ donors?

You can share your experience, like this story by Gerard O'Neil, by clicking on the green button below.

The death of my sister-in-law seemed so unfair.

For years she had suffered from chronic depression, officially recognised as being caused by her ex-husband. When she finally separated from him, her health was so debilitated she had to be interned in a psychiatric hospital.

The state asked my wife and I if we would look after her two young children while she was undergoing treatment. This we readily agreed to as it only made official something we were already doing.

During the following years, my sister-in-law's health slowly improved and she had reached a point whereby she was capable of looking after her children again. The days before her death had been particularly happy for everyone.

After having 15 jobs in five years, she had finally held down the same job for a year and was preparing to take her first holiday. The plan was for her children to move back to live with her when she returned, thus fulfilling her dream of one day reuniting her family.

On the morning of the accident, my-sister-in-law had invited a friend over for coffee. She had just popped out to buy milk at the dairy across the street when a car hit her.

On being informed of the accident my wife rushed to the hospital and I went home to meet my nephews arriving from school. I sat them down and broke the news as gently as possible, but without going into details. The doctors had already informed us that if my sister-in-law survived she would be a quadriplegic.

After a few hours, we were allowed to visit my sister-in-law in intensive care. She was propped up in bed with clean bandages round her head and, apart from being very pale, looked as if she was simply sleeping.

The next day, my parents-in-law arrived. Before we left for the hospital we had a meeting to discuss our next move as I suspected the hospital was going to ask if we would consider donating my sister-in-law's organs if she did not survive.

If they did ask, my mother-in-law was in favour as her brother had received a life-transforming kidney transplant some years previously.

At the hospital, the chaplain and several doctors were there to meet us and, as we suspected, asked if we would consider donating my sister-in-law's organs.

Afterwards, one of the doctors took me aside and explained that they were trying everything to save my sister-in-law and were a little embarrassed about asking about organ donation at this stage. But the earlier they had confirmation, the better they could prepare.

The next couple of days flew by. When we were not at the hospital we were organising my sister-in-law's funeral.

My wife had a friend who worked as a nurse in the hospital who unofficially kept us informed. She said the doctors were doing everything possible but as each hour passed, my sister-in-law was slowly slipping away.

On the fourth day, we were informed by the hospital that my sister-in-law would probably not survive the day and that the transplant teams were being assembled for 11pm that night.

Our last visit to the hospital was at 9 pm. As the number of visitors to intensive care was limited, my parents-in-law entered with my nephews first.

While we were waiting, a doctor told us the transplant teams were assembled. It was only then that I realised how complex multiple organ donation is.

It requires several specialised surgical teams to remove the organs and then other teams to do the transplants. The doctor said that a helicopter was waiting on the helipad to take the organs to the airport where there were two planes waiting.

When it was my wife and I's turn to say goodbye we were struck by how peaceful my sister-in-law looked. Her head bandages had been removed and her skin was shiny and smooth, as the nursing team had been applying moisturiser. Someone had even gone to the trouble of combing her hair.

After a period, I felt a gentle touch on my arm. "It's time," a nurse said. She then began disconnecting machines.

As my wife and I turned and began walking away the heart monitor, which until that moment had been beeping quietly and rhythmically, gave one loud beep.

Swinging round we were in time to see a large heart appear for an instant on the monitor before it returned to its previous rhythm. Perhaps the nurse had knocked the machine, but we like to think it was the way my sister-in-law had found to say her goodbyes.

It was well after midnight before I got to bed, but I could not sleep. Around 3.30am, away in the distance, I heard a helicopter flying towards the airport. It provided some consolation knowing that the precious cargo it carried was being eagerly awaited by so many.

Six months later, I returned to the hospital to ask about the success of the transplants. Even though the hospital could not talk about specifics, they could tell me that seven people had benefited from the donations in three different cities.

All the transplants had been a success.

We often visit my sister-in-law's grave. With so much of her still here, it is difficult to accept she has really gone. As some of the transplant patients were much younger than we are, in some respects, my sister-in-law will probably outlive us all.

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