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The gift of life: Liver transplant recipient encourages families to support organ donation

New lease of life: Jackie Moonie encourages everyone to support organ donation after a liver transplant saved her life. All photos by Kath Flannery / DC Thomson.
New lease of life: Jackie Moonie encourages everyone to support organ donation after a liver transplant saved her life. All photos by Kath Flannery / DC Thomson.

Tears suddenly soak Jackie Moonie’s cheeks as she reads the poignant handwritten card she received from the grieving family of the woman who saved her life.

“Whilst mum’s passing has been difficult for us all, my dad and ourselves gain great strength in knowing that mum’s gift is helping your mum,” reads the letter which was sent to Jackie’s daughter.

“We pray that your mum gains strength and that you have many happy times ahead as we go into 2019.”

Poignant pause: Jackie Moonie was touched when she received a handwritten card from the donor’s family.

Gift of life

Despite no bows, ribbons or fancy wrapping paper, what Jackie received was the best present anyone could ever wish for – the gift of life in the form of a liver transplant.

Today Jackie is sharing her story to shed light on the incredible impact of organ donation and how it can not only save lives but also provide strength and comfort to grieving families.

“When I read that letter from the family of the woman who donated her liver to me, I cried my eyes out, I felt very emotional,” says Jackie.

“It saved my life so I want everyone to know the difference that organ donation can make.”

Forever indebted: Jackie now raises money for the hospitals where she received treatment as a thank you for the tremendous care she received.

Health scare

Fit, active and fiercely independent, never in a million years did the Bridge of Don mum-of-two think she would ever need a liver transplant.

But that is the scary scenario Jackie found herself in when consultants diagnosed her with cirrhosis of the liver which is thought to have been caused by complications related to her Type 2 diabetes.

“I can’t remember what happened at the time because apparently your blood goes toxic and it goes into your brain,” says Jackie, 72, who worked in the job centre in Aberdeen’s Dee Street before retiring.

Heartfelt card: The donor’s family replied to a card Jackie’s daughter sent them on her behalf.

Dementia tests

It was about six years ago when Jackie’s husband of 52 years, Andrew, suddenly noticed a change in his wife’s behaviour as she experienced problems with her memory.

“She suddenly deteriorated and we knew there was something wrong,” says Andrew.

“I noticed a difference in her.”

Charity champ: Jackie is now channeling her efforts into raising money for charity.

At first, consultants thought Jackie had dementia due to some of her symptoms, such as memory loss.

“There wasn’t much difference between the way she was acting and dementia,” says Andrew.

“We also thought it was something like that but she got tested for dementia and it wasn’t that.”

Lifesaving operation

Eventually, after months of going back and forth for tests, Jackie was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and she was put on the liver transplant waiting list.

Luckily she didn’t have too long to wait for the lifesaving operation.

“I was only on the waiting list for a couple of days before I got the call,” says Jackie.

“I can actually remember that phone call and I just said oh well fine, let’s go.

“So I got the phone call on the Tuesday, we went to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on the Thursday and it was done on the Friday.”

Fighting fit: Jackie has got her independence back following her transplant.

Eight-hour operation

It all happened so fast that Andrew says he didn’t have time to process what was happening.

“It was that quick there wasn’t time to worry about it,” he says.

After eight long hours of surgery, Jackie was wheeled back to the ward where her recovery began.

With the high risk of rejection – when your body’s immune system starts to “attack” the transplanted liver – the next few months were critical in her recovery.

But Jackie hasn’t looked back since.

“I’ve never felt ill since I got it,” Jackie beams.

Emotional: Jackie cherishes the card she received from the donor’s family.

Andrew says the transplant has given not only Jackie but both their lives back.

“It’s given her back her independence as before she would never go into town and now she can do that,” says Andrew.

“It’s also given me my life back too as I was afraid to go out the house and leave her by herself.

Charity work

Forever indebted to the deceased woman and her family who respected her wishes to donate her liver when she died, Jackie is keen to give something back.

She is now on mission to raise money for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and also the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary – where she goes for check-ups – to support other people who are going through similar situations.

To show her heartfelt gratitude, she has organised her second special charity night in her house in September.

From quizzes and raffles to bingo and a slap-up food spread, Jackie is pulling out all the stops to make it a success.

Lifesaving gift: Jackie still gets emotional when she reads the card.

“I want to thank everyone who has donated prizes to the raffles, it’s amazing,” says Jackie.

“Neighbours have given me donations and shops and businesses have been very generous too.”

Organ donation

Jackie’s story is timely as it comes just after health experts at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have urged people to register their opinions on organ donation and discuss their views with loved ones after the number of families agreeing to donation fell from 69% in 2020/21 to 66% last year.

The figures, released by NHSBT, show that last year, 605 families declined to support organ donation with reasons including not knowing what their loved one would have wanted, split opinion in the family, or not believing in donation.

The law around organ donation has changed to an “opt out” system across Scotland, England and Wales but despite this, family members will still always be consulted before organ donation goes ahead.

Jackie hopes that by speaking out, she will encourage more people to support organ donation.

“My message to anyone who isn’t sure about organ donation is, ‘do it’,” she says.

“It saved my life and I didn’t feel any pain from the operation.”

For more information about organ donation go to the website www.organdonation.scot

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