Heart transplant Luke’ s message on donor opt-out

AFife man whose life was saved by a heart transplant has urged everyone to consider their choice carefully ahead of the move to an opt-out system of organ and tissue donation.

From today, unless they have recorded a decision about donation, everyone over the age of 16 will be considered a possible donor if they die in circumstances in which they could donate.

And while many people tend to keep issues like that at the back of their minds, it was very much brought to the forefront of Luke Ripley’s in June 2019 – just three days before his 39th birthday.

Luke, an aeronautical engineer in the Royal Air Force, was suddenly rushed into hospital and was quickly diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy after suffering flu-like symptoms.

Transferred to the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank for urgent treatment, he was then placed on an intraaortic balloon pump machine which kept him alive while he waited for a lifesaving transplant.

“I’d never had any symptoms at all and after 23 years in the military I thought I was reasonably fit and healthy,” said Luke, now 40, from Glenrothes.

“Instead I learnt that my heart had failed repeatedly. I couldn’t leave hospital without receiving a transplant, as I relied on the balloon pump to keep me alive.

“Due to a rare blood type and my height, I was told that I was looking at eight or nine months on the waiting list.

“Whilst waiting for the call, my balloon pump failed resulting in me needing a difficult emergency surgery.

“At this point I was so convinced my time had come that I recorded a final message on my phone for my wife to listen to in case the worst happened and spoke to some friends to prepare them.”

Fortunately the emergency surgery succeeded and, after a false alarm, Luke received the life-changing news that a donor heart had been found in September 2019, just three months after he was added to the waiting list.

He recalled: “The transplant coordinator passed my room to see the light on and came in to share the news that a match had been found.

“It was a surreal moment when my surgeon bounced into my room a couple of hours later to tell me this was a perfect match.

“I’ve been told that as soon as they reattached the heart it was beating strongly.

“Astonishingly I was off the ventilator the day after the transplant.

“It’s important to respect that everyone has a choice, but I would urge everyone to look at the impact organ and tissue donation can have on people’s lives.”

For more about the law change, and to record your donation decision, visit organdonationscotland.org or call 0300 303 2094.

LIFE-CHANGING NEWS: Luke Ripley with his wife, Jenny.