A £500 thank-you for transplants

10:22am Wednesday 5th December 2007

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A GRANDMOTHER who has had two liver transplants has said a special thank-you to the medical staff who cared for her.

Jean Lee's life hung in the balance when her body rejected the first donor organ.

As her condition deteriorated in hospital, doctors launched a frantic search for a new liver in a bid to save her life.

Despite overwhelming odds, a new match was found and a second operation was carried out.

That was six months ago. Now Mrs Lee, aged 66, of Prestbury Road in Astley Bridge, is enjoying spending time with her family, including six grandchildren. To say thank you, she raised £500 for the liver unit at St James' Hospital in Leeds where she was treated.

She said: "I just wanted to give something back to the people who treated me. The staff were absolutely fantastic; doctors, nurses, everyone there that cared for me. I just can't praise them enough."

The former shop assistant was first diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis of the liver, the cause of which is unknown, in 1994. The condition attacks the bile ducts in the liver, meaning toxic substances are kept inside the body.

Even though her condition deteriorated, Mrs Lee continued to work, and three years ago her care was transferred from the Royal Bolton Hospital to the Leeds hospital.

In December, 2005, she was given the devastating news that her liver had begun to fail and she was placed on the transplant waiting list.

Consultants warned Mrs Lee that without a new liver she would only have a few years to live.

But on May 17 this year the call came that a organ donor match had been found.

Mrs Lee underwent a three-hour operation at St James', but just over a week later was given the news that the transplant had failed and an emergency search for a new organ was launched. Three days later a new match was found and mum-of-two Mrs Lee underwent a second operation, followed by surgery to the veins and arteries surrounding her new liver, which had become blocked following the previous transplant.

Mrs Lee said: "I was extremely lucky because liver transplants are very rare. There's a real shortage of people on the organ donor register.

"I would really encourage people to sign up to help someone after their death."

The £500 was raised at a coffee morning at Bank Top Church, selling coffee and cakes for £1.50, along with a raffle and a tombola.