A Glasgow patient who had a heart transplant has thanked the family of the man who donated the organ after revealing he had nearly "given up".
Steve Donaldson, 61, will be captaining a cycle from Glasgow to the Kelpies as part of the Race for Recipients, an event created to raise awareness for Organ and Tissue Donation Week.
Steve reveals his story after figures show that just under half of all organ and tissue donor's decisions are unrecorded.
This week is Organ and Tissue Donation Week, with people being urged to register their wishes about donation.
In Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, 53.3% of people have registered their decision with 50% opting in and 3.3% opting out.
It means 46.7% of decisions are unrecorded.
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In 2017, after a long-running campaign led by the Glasgow Times, the law surrounding donors was changed meaning people had to opt-out rather than opt-in to becoming a donor.
Now, if people aged 16 and over choose to do nothing, it is assumed they agree to be a donor if they die in circumstances where donation is possible, unless they are in a group for whom the opt-out system does not apply, or it would be against their views.
Steve hopes his story will encourage more people to register to opt in to be potential donors.
The 61-year-old told how a ride left him in pain and had to be rushed to A&E where he discovered he had ventricular tachycardia (VT) – a fast heart rate arising from the lower chambers of the heart – and was put immediately on heart medication.
At the time, Steve was only 18 and had the dream of becoming a cyclist and competing professionally in competitions but that had to be put on hold as it was the start of a long and stressful journey for the Ayrshire man.
After many hospital visits, medication, and different technologies to keep his heart in shape as the years progressed, it was in 1999 that he was fitted with his first defib.
This allowed Steve to go on his first holiday in 10 years, but in 2004, the doctors gave him the news that it was no longer just one side of his heart that wasn’t working. Both sides were now struggling.
Looking back to 2010 when he was put on the transplant register for a new heart, Steve said: “I got my first phone call for a heart in April 2010, but that heart went to someone else.
"I got another call in September of the same year, but tests on that heart showed that it couldn’t be donated after all. When we reached October, I told my wife that I may as well give up.
"I felt like I’d never get the heart I needed and realistically, thought I wouldn’t make it to Christmas.
"Then, at 1:10am on Tuesday the 10th of November, I got my call. When I asked the doctor how many others were in line for this heart, he answered, just you Steve. I couldn’t believe it.
"My biggest hero is the man who gave me his heart, and my thanks go to his family for speaking on his behalf and enabling that to happen. Without him and them, I wouldn’t be here today”.
Steve’s surgery was successful, and, by Christmas, he was home with his wife and his new heart. After two years of rehab, Steve was back in the saddle. Since then, he has raced in nine cycling events internationally, and won! He is currently European Road Race Champion in his age category at the European Transplant Games.
On Saturday, Steve will captain a cycle from Glasgow to The Kelpies as part of the Race for Recipients, an event created to raise awareness for Organ and Tissue Donation Week.
Tony McGeown, Specialist Nurse - Organ Donation at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “We’re encouraging everyone to think about organ and tissue donation this week and record that decision, whatever it may be, on the NHS Organ and Tissue Donor Register.
“Only around one per cent of people die in a way that makes organ donation possible, which means every opportunity for donation is precious. Help make this week count, and don’t leave your loved ones in doubt”.
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