The Gift of Life, Holly Shaw — Battlefront. You're Already Involved

ABOUT

The Gift of Life

Holly Shaw

Did you know that 1000 people die every year because of the shortage of organ donors in the UK?

My campaign

My campaign will raise awareness of organ donation and encourage more people to think, talk and do something about it. By educating people, and clearing up common misconceptions about Organ Donation, I hope to get more people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register and potentially save and transform the lives of others like myself.

In 2005 I went on the kidney transplant waiting list after a sudden illness caused kidney failure. I was kept alive by a dialysis machine which I was attached to 3 times each week, and was put on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. For many others on the waiting list dialysis isn’t an option – for them an organ transplant is a matter of life and death. Waiting was tough! However I have been lucky and recently received my gift of life, but for others this is not always the case as there is still a major shortage of Organ Donors in the UK.

I am determined to keep campaigning and fighting for the people still waiting on the transplant list.

My Campaign highlights

- Getting words of support from Gordon Brown on the number 10 website, here: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18965
- My campaign being the second most retweeted tweet in the world on April 7th!
- Putting on my Donor Day and getting thousands of sign-ups to the NHS Organ Donor Register
- Working with Oli Barrett and Amy MacClaren – my inspirational mentors!
- Appearing on GMTV

How can you help?

- Get in touch if you are affected by Organ Donation and Transplantation and want to join the campaign
- Sign up to the organ donor register by clicking on the image below
- Watch the video I've made that shows the big difference organ donation can make in someone's life by clicking here
- JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP

SHOW YOUR SUPORT

YOUR COMMENTS

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Sorrry Holly but you're not normal..you're amazing. I just had a look at your blog. I'd actually forgot how bad things were for you at times but you were always battling through it, on your blog it's like 'worked all day then had dialysis'! I'm not sure I'd be as brave and determined as you were keeping up with uni work, the campaign and going through all that! Now you've finished your dissertation, finished uni keeping up with everyone else, you and your family can relax together , been on a holiday and had a birthday party! Even with side effects that's a happy ending everyone takes for granted, you've achieved so much. My brother and his girlfriend signed up yesterday after seeing your site through facebook. keep up the good work x

natalie, 12 May 2009 10:58

Thanks for your kind words everyone! Updated my blog about the positives of transplants and campaigning, head on over and take a look if your interested... http://lifeondialysis--waitingforthecall.blogspot.com/2009/05/upsides-to-transplantation-and.html

Holly Shaw, 12 May 2009 09:58

Looking fwd to watching you on telly this week Holz!! Many many congrats XX

Jen, 12 May 2009 09:30

Watching Battlefront this week. Go Holly!

Rob C, Leven, 11 May 2009 23:39

Who knows when any of us would need a transplant? Thanks for doing this. In years to come, lives will be saved because of the increase in the number of registered donors. x

Ellie, 11 May 2009 23:14

Financially it's much cheaper for the NHS to transplant a kidney patient than keep them on dialysis. At the West London renal & transplant centre I was told they break even 18 months after a transplant. Kidney patients have a much worse life expectancy on dialysis than with a transplant. So why shouldnt the NHS (and society) save lives by promoting the organ donor register and living donation? In my experience transplant recipients as a group are tremendously grateful to their donors because they know only too well what they have escaped. That's what Holly's donor campaign is all about. Saving lives.

Helen R, 11 May 2009 22:47

Just seen a link on my friend's page. Good on ya!

Seb's mate, 11 May 2009 22:47

I've never really thought about signing the donor register - hadn't thought enough about it. Having seen your and others' efforts in the last year has made me realise it's a worthwhile thing and I'm now signed up. Good luck - hope you stay well.

Gerry K, 11 May 2009 22:44

This is a brilliant campaign so far. Can't wait to see the TV spot :) Keep up the great work!

Bill Hadley, 11 May 2009 22:38

Hi Holly. Great campaign. You and all the other people who have been part of The Gift of Life deserve a big thank you for raising awareness of organ donation. There will always be people who get some weird satisfaction from being nasty. I'm just so thankful you and other young people are doing something positive and useful for society.

Amanda C, 11 May 2009 22:31

Wow you people really have a lot of time on your hands don't you. I absolutely love the irony here; Holly spends hours, no sorry, weeks of her new life and her new energy fighting to help and support others, and you use your time to seek her out and absuse her. Anyone else amused by this?! Holly...you know who to listen to in life; it's the people you know, the people you love, the people who know you and the people who are responsible for your medical care. It just saddens me that some people will go to such lengths to try and put another person down. Takes all sorts.

nothingbettertodo, 11 May 2009 21:31

To "James" and "who agrees with James" ... WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? Do you think she eats that sort of food everyday??? Unless you haven't noticed "she's a HUMAN" and she hasn't been allowed to eat that sort of things for a while and so she did it once or twice WOULDN'T YOU?? Can you live without chocolate or crisps for the rest of your LIFE? She had the gift of life to LIVE not to torture herself. Also, if you think she's doing this everyday why would she film it and put it on a website, do you film yourself when you eat chips and chocolate and put it on a website? don't we do those sort of things to rare events or special moments? come on, have a think about it! I cannot believe the negative comments posted on this wonderful page promoting a very noble cause. Kate wrote many negative and idiotic comments such as "their corpse's despicably altered with under false pretenses". So this lady would rather have her corpse buried, eaten by worms and then turned to dust then use it to help a person live a "happy ending" cause guess what we all have an ending, we're all going to die someday but if I die knowing that I helped someone live months or years more than they would have and have a happy life even for a while then I don't really care what happens to my body, cause guess what, they don't have modelling agencies down there. I think this remarkable young lady is not only giving a chance for less fortunate people to have the gift of life but also for us to have a chance to do something good after we die. So please use your time to make some good in the world instead of standing in the way of those who are.

Ms Common Sense, 11 May 2009 21:05

Thanks for your comments... I don't feel the need to explain myself, but if you are interested in reading more about me and my life post transplant have a look at my latest blog: http://lifeondialysis--waitingforthecall.blogspot.com/2009/05/downsides-to-transplants-and.html

Holly Shaw, 11 May 2009 20:54

Please can we have no more comments about Holly's size or eating habits? I am a producer of Battlefront and we all think that Holly is a marvellous human being and a fantastic campaigner. I can assure those who don't know Holly that she is a perfectly normal size and eats a healthy diet. It's normal, when you haven't had any treats in four years, to enjoy eating a little bit of higher-fat food on occasion. I'm sure any of us would... Holly is allowed treats sometimes and is enjoying this new privilege. She made a film about it - is this so wrong? In the meantime, I think we should show our respect for her by not going on any more about her size. She is trying to live a normal life now, and trying to run a campaign so that others can live their lives too. We should be celebrating what she is doing, not making her feel bad about the way she looks because of her medication. Please, move on...and have some respect for another human being. Thank you!

Jo, 11 May 2009 20:40

Thank you James and someonewhoagreeswithjames aka James, for your insightful if incorrect and offensive comments. Holly is not obese as anyone who has actually met her rather than random strangers on the internet knows. As has already been covered, steroids cause the moon face however that is the extent of it. Yes Holly has sometimes eaten foods that are not salad, I'm sure you live entirely of algae and wheatgerm but we can't all be that disciplined now can we. Personally if I went from being ill and unable to enjoy life while bound to dialysis and on an extremely limited diet, I'd want to enjoy life a bit and eat foods that taste nice so I think good on Holly for making the most of her gift and enjoying life. She is clearly not eating that for every meal and having been so ill she clearly doesn't wish to jepordize her health so maybe think a bit more carefully before exposing us all to your uninformed ramblings next time.

Someonewhodoesn'tagreewithjames, 11 May 2009 20:21

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