As we mark Organ Donation Awareness Week, Keith Astbury discusses the importance of donation, five years after his daughter Pippa gave the gift of life.
Pippa suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage in 2018, and surgeons at Royal Preston Hospital were, unfortunately, unable to save her.
Unbeknown to her family, Pippa’s wish was to donate her organs and tissues, and that gesture has brought Keith – now an NHSBT Volunteer Organ Donation Ambassador – some level of comfort.
Keith tells the story:
Nearly five years ago in November 2018 I received the worst phone call any parent could receive, and it changed our lives forever. The paramedics were with my daughter Pippa who had collapsed and was unconscious. I was advised to get to the hospital ASAP as I was told Pippa was very poorly. We arrived to what appeared to be chaos as lots of medics were around Pippa. After a while we were told that Pippa had suffered a spontaneous catastrophic brain haemorrhage. Pippa was taken to theatre, but the surgeons were unable to save her. At this point I/we descended into what I describe as a ‘foggy abyss’ which appeared to me as unreal and being in some sort of ‘time warp’.
After being given private time in the family room, we were informed by the specialist nurses that Pippa had previously stated that should anything happen to her, she wanted her organs and tissues donated to enable others to benefit from her precious gifts. As we had never discussed organ donation with Pippa, this came as a surprise to us.
After a short period of discussion, we felt we should honour Pippa’s wishes, and knowing this made our decision easier and we agreed to donation. From there we entered our process of grieving. A couple of weeks later I received a very emotional letter from the NHSBT donor family aftercare service informing us the Pippa had donated both her lungs, both kidneys and her corneas to several recipients. Knowing this was bittersweet, however, it soon became apparent that Pippa’s gifts of life and sight made our grief somewhat softer around the edges.
About ten months later we received the most heart-warming letter from a lovely lady called Helen and her daughter Danielle. Helen is the recipient of Pippa’s lungs. I can only imagine how difficult it was for Helen and Danielle to write to a donor family thanking them for the gift of life, as the words ‘thank you’ seem totally inadequate, but, how else can you begin. Danielle told us that her mum Helen had now been able to see her youngest daughter learn to ride a bicycle.
Fast forwarding four years and ten months, Helen’s family and ours have a special relationship and have become part of each other’s family as we video call regularly and meet when we can. We met for the first time - a complete surprise to us as Helen and Danielle wanted to thank us in person, which was very emotional for us all - at the Donor Family Network’s event for their thanksgiving service at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. Also we met again for the opening of the memorial garden at the Royal Preston Hospital, where Pippa was taken to after she collapsed. By honouring Pippa’s wishes and writing this article, I have highlighted the true positive impact that Organ and Tissue Donation has on real families, and the life-saving and life-improving effects to recipients and donor families.
Please have the conversation with your loved ones and confirm your decision at organdonation.nhs.uk
Thank you, Keith Astbury, Pippa’s dad and NHSBT Volunteer Organ Donation Ambassador.
