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Organ transplant story after death of bike rider in motorcycle accident
It can be a heart-rending decision - a loved one is critically injured in a motorcycle accident.
Already 'killed' and no longer able to live, only life support systems keep that friend or relative on the earthly realm.
Should you agree that the body organs of the injured person be donated for transplants?
It can seem a big question - or maybe not. Perhaps, like many, you know that organ donation is the right thing to do.
When someone is so seriously injured in a motorbike crash or car accident that they cannot survive, a well-organised medical process kicks into action.
In the case of a motorcycle accident victim whose heart was transplanted to help extend the life of a friend of mine, the logistics of the process were a wonder to understand.
First, the patient recipient waits in hospital - though sometimes at home if their condition allows.
The waiting is for a donor. It seems macabre waiting for someone else to die.
It is, however, a fact of life - we all die at some point in time.
Once news came through that a donor had "become available", my friend was started to be prepared for their life-saving operation.
His family talked and prayed, a little nervously - or was it just quiet anxiety? Conversations were upbeat - success rates for heart transplants at Papworth are said to top 95 per cent.
Airlifted to London, the donor was prepared for organ transplant procedures, and organs were removed for various surgical operations that would save and improve lives across the country.
My friend's new heart was driven in a special ambulance to Papworth Hospital, near Cambridge.
Packed in ice, I believe, the heart had checked and tested by doctors before it began its journey up the motorway (maybe the same road where the donor had been in a motorcycle accident only hours earlier).
All was now set for a successful operation, all being well. Last minute words, promises to care for those left behind, good luck wishes for the operation - and worries that my friend might not make it were also (slightly) discussed.
A rollercoaster of emotions and issues pour through the minds of friends and family.
Then, into theatre my friend was wheeled. Hours of surgery and waiting for news tick by.
Then, very good news - the operation is a success, like clockwork. Amazing.
Next time I see the guy, he's sitting up in bed the next morning after having breakfast. Ok - it was cardiac intensive care and he didn't look 100 per cent. But after that op, he was alive and kicking. Truly amazing.
I remember a few words from a letter pinned inside a display case at Papworth - one successful heart transplant patient described the chainsawing open of their chest for this most traumatic of operations.
The donor has died, and the transplant patient now faces a long, often painful, worrisome and painful battle for life and getting back on his or her feet. But it seems to be a miracle.
To find out more about organ transplantation, to perhaps understand the importance of becoming a donor, visit the UK Transplant website.
