Angela’s campaign after transplant joy
A woman who has been given a second chance at life thanks to a liver transplant is encouraging people to sign up to become organ donors.
Angela Coyne had been seriously unwell for 10 years before her transplant last May after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, primary biliary cirrhosis.
She struggled to get through each day and with so little energy, would collapse onto the sofa after work. Even going to the shops was almost impossible.
Angela (51) was in desperate need of a transplant and so was put on the donor list. However, she was struck down with sepsis at the beginning of last year.
Miraculously, she recovered and went on to receive a new liver – and says her life has been transformed.
She has now embarked on a campaign to encourage people to become organ donors and this week set up a stall at St John’s Hospital, where she works in the laundry department, to hand out registration forms.
Angela – who lives with partner Des Walsh in Livingston and has two children aged 23 and 19 – says she welcomes Monday’s announcement by the Scottish Government that legislation has been tabled to change Scotland to an‘ opt-out’ system for organ donation.
Just now, people must opt in to the system in order to donate their organs for transplants after they die.
Angela told the Courier: “One person can save so many lives if they become and organ donor and that’s really the message I’m trying to get across. I’ve been given another shot at life and feel better and stronger every day.
“I’ve set up these stalls at St John’s Hospital to give people some more information and give them the facts.
“The response I’ve had has been really positive and I’ve handed out lots of registration forms to people.”
Angela said before her operation she struggled with day-to-day tasks as she had so little energy and felt unwell because of her condition, which could have been caused by something as simple as a virus.
Since the transplant she is now living life to the full and enjoying activities that had been impossible before.
She continued :“Before my transplant I would come home from work and collapse on the couch. I had absolutely no energy to do anything.
“I couldn’t even walk round the shops for more than five minutes.
“It was terrible and really horrible for my partner and kids to see.
“Thanks to the transplant I can live a normal life and have been able to start doing things to keep fit like walking and running, which I would never have been able to do before.”
Angela will be at St John’s Hospital tonight (Thursday) from 6pm until 8pm and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 2pm until 4pm.
She added:“I wanted to do this to give something back and to give people some more information about what it means to become a donor.
“Three people die a day waiting on the transplant list so I would urge people to think about becoming donors.”