As bride-to-be Allison John walked down the aisle, the eyes of both the men she had given her heart to followed her every step.

At the altar waiting for her was groom Nathan Angell – and in the congregation satDavid Hamilton, the man with Allison’s transplanted heart beating in his chest.

Both knew how amazing it was either of them had made it to this day.

Allison, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, made history by becoming the first person in Britain to have all her major organs – liver, heart, lungs and kidney – replaced.

And having been given a second chance at life, she agreed to donate her old heart to save ex-soldier David’s life.

For Allison, her wedding day would not havebeen complete without him.

She says: “It was only natural for him to be there, it would have felt strange if he wasn’t. He was like a part of me. By giving away a heart I gained a second family.”

The pair became close friends after Allison underwent a heart and lung transplant in 1997 and David received the organ. Their families met by chance as both recovered at the same hospital.

And while Allison has no idea who donated her heart and lungs – though she sent an anonymous letter to thank the family – she discovered the identity of her liver donor after being given a special recognition award at the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards in 2010.

Following her TV appearance she received aFacebook message from the mother of a little girl who had donated her liver, who put her age and the date of the operation together to identify her.

“It was really touching,” says Allison. “I think it helped her to know she had done the right thing and I had put the liver to good use.”

Her experiences have led to Allison becoming one of the leading campaigners for organ donation and she played a crucial role in launching an “opt out” donor registerin Wales this month.

It aims to tackle the shortage of donors andcut waiting times by adding everyone to the register unless they specifically withdraw their consent.

But while Allison is delighted by the register, she is furious at the damage NHS chiefs believe has been done by a recent episode of Holby City.

Five million viewers watched surgeons continue with a transplant after the deceased donor’s mum withdrew consent – something that would never happen.

Other errors saw the bereaved mother watch the operation and confront the mother of the recipient.

Bosses at NHS Blood and Transplant wrote to the BBC to complain and warned that the scenes had scared people into dropping off the donor register.

Allison says: “It makes your blood boil, to behonest. It’s so far removed from the truth. It’s very irresponsible to go against the advice of a nurse and run this ­sensational story to attract more viewers.

“I don’t think they have realised the damage they’ve done, wiping out so much hard work we have put in over the years. It could cost lives.”

The reality of Allison’s own transplant was afar cry from the depiction on television.

As she and David recovered from surgery atthe small but pioneering Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, they were the only heart­transplant patients on the wards and their families began ­chatting in the hospital canteen.

Allison, 35, says: “I had a cuddly rabbit that was my mascot through the whole thing. I think David’s family saw my mum holding him and put two and two together.”

The pair spent seven weeks in hospital and towards the end of their recovery period were allowed out for a few hours at a time. So one afternoon the families went for a meal together.

Allison recalls: “David took me to one side and asked if I knew where my heart had gone. I said yes, I knew he had it.

“Then he broke down in tears. He was so grateful.

“From that point on there was a very special bond between us. They lived in Kent and we lived in Wales but we were always on the phone and they would send presentsat Christmas.”

Thanks to his new heart David enjoyed an extra 14 years of life. He even survived twoheart attacks that might have killed someone with their original, older heart.

However, the strain weakened the organ and David died at the age of 74 in 2011, justmonths after watching Allison tie the knot.

As a former Royal Engineer he was given a full military funeral, complete with the Last Post.

Allison admits: “It wasn’t until I went to the funeral that I realised how emotional it would be. It was like saying goodbye to part of myself. It was extremely hard.”

After a childhood spent battling cystic fibrosis, Allison badly needed a liver transplant when she left school.

Yet she spent 16 months waiting for an organ, every day hoping her hospital pager would bleep. She says: “It was living hell, my whole life was put on hold.”

On one occasion the family were packed and ready to leave for the hospital when they received a second call.

Allison says: “There was a girl who’d had complications with her transplant and needed another liver immediately to live.

“I told them to give it to her. It was a huge anticlimax. Nobody really said much for a while after that. We were shell-shocked.”

Allison eventually had her transplant in 1995, aged 17. By that time doctors feared she had as little as three days to live.

But complications left her on a ventilator and she quickly found herself back on the waiting list needing a lung transplant while doctors advised replacing her heart as well to make the operation easier.

Time was running out, however. “I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom,” she says. “Towards the end I was on oxygen, but my nails and lips were blue.”

This time Allison only had to wait six weeks before the transplant in 1997 – however the drugs she was given to stop her body rejecting the new organs damaged her kidneys, leaving her needing regular dialysis.

A third transplant was the only option and dad David stepped up as a live donor in 2006.

Allison was too weak for a general anaesthetic and remained awake through the operation. “I couldn’t feel any pain, but Icould still feel them poking and pushing inside me,” she recalls.

Since her final transplant Allison has made aremarkable recovery and even returned to university to complete her training as a doctor in 2010. She is now working towardsbecoming a GP.

Her marriage to 33-year-old Nathan and the chance to do simple things, such as go on holiday, has made Allison appreciate her second chance even more.

“It might sound ordinary, but it is very extraordinary for someone who has been through everything I have,” she says.

Her experience as both a transplant patientand a doctor saw her put forward for top table talks with the Welsh health minister as an ambassador for the Kidney Wales Foundation. Her efforts mean the opt-out register could be up and running as soon as 2015.

Supporters argue it is badly needed as three people die every day in the UK while waiting for a transplant.

Allison says: “I think it’s great that Wales has made history and is leading the way. Now we need the rest of the UK to follow. Europe has been doing this for years.”

The British Medical Association has also called for England to adopt an opt-out register. Yet opponents claim it could reduce the number of organs available and does not pay sufficient heed to the feelings of relatives.

Those arguments are given short shrift by Allison. “How do they think the families of people waiting for a transplant feel?”

More than anything, Allison knows just how fortunate she was to have not just one, but four, life-saving transplants.

“I have been very lucky. I know that and think about it every day. It’s all down to those people who made the decision to donate their loved one’s organs.”


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/by-giving-heart-away-gained-2125119

Wow, can't believe I read the whole thing... Thank God for your life. Touching. Isn't it amazing how a functioning medical system and nice donors could help save people's lives, We (Nigeria) shall get there soon.

I did not bother reading it to the end, it was too long! But I already know how the story 'll end!
My comment - Aww!! So touching and sweet