A West Cumbrian man who received a life-saving ‘domino’ heart transplant in his teens is urging people to have an open discussion about organ donation with their family and friends.
Shane Smith, 28, was diagnosed with a mild heart condition at the age of 14, but within a year his life depended on receiving a new heart.
“At the start of 2009 I was diagnosed with mild left side dilated cardiomyopathy. I was playing football every Saturday for the local team,” said Shane.
“Later on in the year while I was helping to coach the younger team, I suffered from loss of vision on the right side coupled with a loss of feeling down the right side of my body. It turns out, I’d had a mini stroke, due to a quickly failing heart.”
In November that year, Shane was told his heart had deteriorated at an alarming rate and it was too dangerous for him to leave the hospital.
“I thought to myself ‘How could this be, I was playing a football match at the weekend just gone and felt fine’,” he said.
“Looking back, I was extremely lucky to walk off the pitch alive that day.”
Shane was placed on the transplant list and spent two months in hospital before a potential match was found.
“It was a feeling I had never felt before or since and one that’s difficult to explain,” he said.
“A mixture of emotions; excitement, relief, fear – coupled with the thought and sympathy for the family on the other side.”
However, this initial potential match was not suitable and Shane had to wait until January 2010 to actually have a transplant.
“Following the transplant, I was told that it was a live donor,” said Shane.
“This is a process called a domino transplant, where a deceased donor gave heart and lungs to a live recipient and that recipient gave their heart to me. The first of its kind for approximately 20 years I believe.
“To this day I still think about the donor. How are they getting on? What are they doing? Are they still well? It’s the most selfless act someone can do to give life to another person, especially one they have never met.
“I am now 12 years post-transplant. Twelve years which I would not have had without the kindness of another person.
“I am back to playing football three times a week. I achieved a first in a degree in waste management and decommissioning and currently work for Sellafield Ltd. The transplant has given me my life back and a future to look forward to. I try to live my life to the full and not take the gift of life for granted each day.
“I think the important message for people to understand is what a difference organ donation can make to a number of lives from the recipient, the family and the friends.
“Organ donation is something that both my close family and I had never really considered or discussed before but now we consider it normal to discuss.
“Another way of thinking about it is ‘Would you take an organ if you needed one?’ It’s given me the chance to live and I will be forever grateful to the donor for their decision.
“Please have a conversation with your family and friends about your organ donation wishes.”
Following a law change in 2020 people are considered to want a donation if they have not registered an objection. However, their family or a next of kin will always be consulted.
The NHS says most families who do not know the wishes of their loved ones will refuse donation whereas nine in 10 families would support organ donation if they knew what their loved one wanted.
Sharon Uhrig, north Cumbria donation liaison nurse, said: “One person donating after their death can provide life-saving transplants for up to nine recipients; restore eyesight for up to four people; and prevent another six people from going blind.
“They can also transform the lives of a further 40 people through transplanting heart valves, tendon, ligaments, bone or blood vessels and in many cases lives are saved after severe burns by having donated skin grafts. Donation after death is an incredible gift.”
People can record their decision regarding organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
