In this episode of Treating You we spoke to Lisa Wilson.
Lisa sits on The Royal London Hospital’s organ donation committee.
She has been involved in a project to create an organ donation memorial sculpture in memory of loved ones who have donated at Barts Health.
However, the reason why Lisa sits on this committee is a very tragic one. In December 2015, Lisa’s son Tom who was 22 years old at the time was playing the sport he loved hockey when he was hit on the back of the head in a training session. Tom then suffered a brain haemorrhage and had a heart attack on the pitch.
Despite his team mates performing CPR on him, when he was brought to hospital, Lisa was told by the doctors in charge that he would be certified brain dead in 12 hours.
Lisa asked to see an organ donor nurse after being asked if she would consider organ donation.
Lisa was told that Tom had signed up to the organ donation register as a first-year student at Nottingham Trent university.
Even more tragically for Lisa, 2 months after Tom died, her husband Graham also suddenly died from sepsis. Graham asked Lisa before he died to keep Tom’s memory alive and she is doing just that.
Thanks to Tom, his organ and tissue donation have saved and improved the lives of up to 50 people. Lisa has since met two recipients of Tom’s organs including a girl called Fatima who had part of Tom’s liver and a gentleman called Gordon who received Tom’s heart who was 60 at the time, he is now 66.
In 2019, to honour his memory, two batons bearing his name were presented at that year's Westfield Health British Transplant Games in Newport, and the World Transplant Games in Newcastle. One of which is on display in the foyer at Tom’s old school, The Coopers Company & Coborn School.
In this episode we talk about her journey of grief, the young man Tom was and the husband and father Graham was and the advocacy work Lisa does now on organ donation and why its so important more people sign up to the register.
This is Lisa’s…and Tom’s story of how he gave people life after his tragic death.
Find out how you can register to become an organ donor here: https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/donate/
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