Heart transplant girl so grateful to donor

breathless. Doctors put it down to asthma but after years of palpitations and blackouts she was referred to a cardiologist and in February 2017, she was diagnosed with the heart condition.

She was prescribed beta blockers and fitted with a defibrillator as a safety mechanism in case her heart stopped.

Morgan, who has a sister Brooke, 18, said: “Life became more and more difficult as I got older. In my final year of high school, I was passing out three to four times a month and was constantly breathless doing the littlest things. They thought I was asthmatic so I went through lots of different inhalers but nothing seemed to work.

“When I was diagnosed with my heart condition, I wasn’t upset or scared. I was more relieved that they finally knew what was wrong with me and I felt safeafe becabecauseause I knew I was going to be fixed.d. I always felt it was somethingg more than asthma. My mumm and dad were more shockedd than me but it’s always easierr to rationalise things when it’ss happening to you.”

Morgan was assessed overr the summer of 2017, but when sheh was still breathless after a couple of months on medication, she was referred to specialists at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank.

After a week of tests, Morgan was placed on the routine waiting list

for a heart transplant in October 2017. During her time on the list, she received calls three times telling her a donor heart had been found – only for each operation not to go ahead.

Morgan said: “The first time it didn’t go through, I was heartbroken. I was totally prepped and ready for theatre – down to the nail polish being removed from my toes – when I heard that the donor heart had a tumour and wasn’t suitable.

“I went home and the second call came at 6.30am the following morning. I waited another 12 hours, only to be told I wasn’t getting that one either.

“That was definitely the hardest part of the whole journey. To have two offers in 24 hours and not to get either heart was so discouraging. Another heart in the May also fell through.

“I thought I’d get a heart within a year of beinging ontherontheroutine list and as time went on, thatthhat seemed to be less of a possibility.”pposs

MorganM gave up her English degreeddeg at Glasgow University anda worked in Ted Baker, re-ree-applyinga for a place studying architectureaarc at Glasgow School ofo AArt, which she was due to start aafter last summer.

ButBt in September, pressures in her heart were higher and she noticed she was more out of breath than she had been.

On her first day of her new course, she was called in by the Golden Jubilee, where doctors told her she was being placed on the urgent

transplant list. Morgan was admitted to the hospital full- time. Seven weeks later, her transplant went ahead after yet another heart fell through.

She said: “I didn’t believe the transplant would actually happen. I’d been told that on very rare occasions, a patient could be put under anaesthetic and the operation wouldn’t go ahead and I’d managed to convince myself that was going to happen to me.

“When they said I was going down to theatre, I was really shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I’d not got that far before.

“The next thing I knew, I woke up in the ICU. The first thing I asked my mum and dad was, ‘Did it really happen?’”

Morgan, who was discharged after two weeks and a day, is planning to write to her donor’s family on the anniversary of her transplant and is delighted the new opt-out law which comes into affect from autumn 2020 will make organs more readily available.

She said: “I don’t know much about my donor but I’m planning to write to her family.

“I’ve been told how much of an amazing heart I’ve been given and it’s opened up my whole life for me. It takes a really good person with a strong family to do that for someone else. I’m incredibly grateful to my donor and her family.

“I cried when I heard the news about the move to opt-out. There are so many people needing a transplant. People like me, just living and waiting.

“My hope is that if there are any young girls who are waiting on a heart and reading this, they know they’re not the only one.

“There is hope of a new heart and a new life.”

I have a full future to look forward to. There is so much to celebrate