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

« Previous | Page 6 of 26 | Next »

Kate, The purpose of transplant is not just to extend life expectancy, but more importantly to improve quality of life. I had a double lung transplant (no luxury of live donor option anyway)last year - it might not make me normal, but it has made me closer to normal than ever before (I have CF). It has allowed me to do and experience new things, and to me, is a happy ending. Who says what is normal anyway? You have no idea what other (non transplant) people struggle with in life - you have no right to even comment on the quality or 'normality' of someone else's life. Holly loves her life - this is enough. Clearly you think the public are being duped into donating organs. You obviously don't understand that most medical treatments are not curative. Holly directs people to the organ donor register -where people can read all the FAQ and inform themselves - it's called informed consent (it's up the individual to inform themselves!) I think you would also find that people will donate to help improve someone's quality of life - and to increase it, no matter how small an increase. For someone facing death, 8 years is a lifetime! I am not clear if you are against organ donation, or just cadaver donation. Even if live organs last longer, it is still not a cure -so not sure what your point actually is, other than to try and upset someone who is doing a great job of getting important issues out in the open. If you don't agree with donation, then that is fine - some people don't. So don't sign the register - simple - but no need to attack someone who is trying to get on with their new life.

Jacqueline Didsbury, 04 May 2009 22:28

Kate, are you serious? Lashing out at Holly and her family like this? What on earth has happened to you in this life to make you so aggressive? Did you know that the life expectancy of a person living on dialysis is greatly reduced, as a result of increased risk of infection and other complications? A kidney transplant can add a good many years to a person's life. Is that not something worth fighting for? Holly is highlighting organ donation in general. If you don't receive a liver or heart or lung transplant in time you die. Is life not worth fighting for? No one has said that transplant is a cure, but just that it brings life, and a quality of life much greater than dialysis. Yes, steroids are horrible, kidney disease is horrible, but Holly is so grateful for her gift that she doesn't feel like sitting around moping about all the horrible stuff she has to deal with. She wants to embrace life and she wants others to have the opportunity she has had. If she feels she is currently living her 'happy ending', then let her. She's telling HER story, HER experiences. No one can dispute that. Holly, the rest of us love you!! Keep up the wonderful work you're doing!!

Ali, 04 May 2009 22:23

I'm very surprised and disappointed that some like Kate has surfaced again on this site. THIS IS A CAMPAIGN TO SAVE LIVES> If you don't want to save lives then don't go on organ transplant websites! Any transplant is better than a life tied to a machine and with the roll of the dice you may even get a 'Normal' life back. Yes, it MAY NOT work, but everyone who chooses to go on the waiting list is there because their quality of life is so poor that any chance is better than they have now! SO SAVE A LIFE and register, OR DON'T register and remember to tell your family and friends that you DONT want to donate. IT IS YOUR CHOICE. The facts are simple ANY CHANCE IS BETTER THAN NO CHANCE. So to end, if someone wants to join please feel good about the fact you are giving someone another roll of the dice of life. FOR EVERYONE (Kate included) who disagrees FOR ANY REASON with organ donation then please DON'T say nasty things about others and we wont say them about you either. EVERYONE HAS TO MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICE ON THIS ISSUE. Laura

PenDraggon, 04 May 2009 22:05

I think you've made your point Kate, Thanks for your comments.

Holly Shaw, 04 May 2009 21:58

I have NOT stated anything about the pitiful average life expectancy of a cadaveric transplant that isn't true. Has anybody refuted my statistics with anything other than 'I know some one who had a transplant...bla bla bla' ? Cadaveric transplants, the kind of second rate transplant the organ donor register will provide a victim of organ failure, don't last long - rarely longer than a single decade (often less before the victim is back on a dialysis machine again). I am aware that some freak cases occur where a dead person's kidney does last longer than a decade - but these are exactly that, freak cases. A rarity and an abnormality. To prattle on about 'happy endings' and not mention the average graft life is a GROSS misuse of the public's trust and a damn lie. People could be having their corpse's despicably altered with under false pretenses. Also, why don't people who should know better (yes Holly, YOU) mention in your campaign about the awful side effects that you are an obvious victim of? Massive weight gain, a'moon face' (partially caused by a high fat diet on steriods - eating chip butties do not help this, but mainly a side effect of the many toxic medications a transplantee has to endure) hair loss, shaking, night sweats, etc? Why is there so much deceit in this campaign about the true nature of organ failure and its subsequent treatment? A mentioning of 'happy endings' should removed for truth's sake. It is not the end of kidney disease, you, as a kidney transplant recipient will never be a normal, healthy person again, but dependent on pills and dialysis for the rest of the kidney's or your life (whichever is shorter). That is a fate I would not wish anybody - not a 'happy ending' by any stretch of the imagination.

Kate, 04 May 2009 21:29

Everyone who has had a transplant knows that it is a "happy ending" to the half-life of waiting, getting sicker and sicker and the very real possibility of death that stares you in the face every single day. I have had my kidney for just over a year, and even if it ended tomorrow I don't care as I have had a happy ending every single day with my transplant that have woken up and gone to work, hung out with my friends, go walking in the hills and swimming in the seass, or woken up with a SMILE on my face that someone has given me my life and my future back. Holly, you ROCK!!

Jen, 04 May 2009 18:04

Kate. What ever possessed you to actually log on to this website and type out nasty and unfounded assumptions about Holly, her family and her campaign? I'm not going to waste my time plying to your ignorance but I just wanted to say Holly I'm backing you every step of the way, your campaign is awesome and is saving and transforming lives. There needs to be more Hollys and less Kates in the world. golightly xxx

golightly , 04 May 2009 11:23

Thanks for your support Ernesto, So glad to hear things are going well for you post transplant. I too think of my Donor and their family everyday, they will always hold a special place in my heart and I will be eternally grateful.

Holly Shaw, 04 May 2009 00:08

Hi Holly. Keep up the good work. Everyone is entitled to their opinion even when when they are ill informed or fail to get their facts correct!!! I recieved my heart transplant 10 years ago when I was at deaths door.So my daughter has had a father my wife a husband and my mother a son for 10 years longer. The quality of my life has been amazing. Each day I think of my donor and his family and their selfless act in giving THE GIFT OF LIFE.

Ernesto, 03 May 2009 23:20

I don't think Holly is deceiving anyone here. She is well aware of all the pitfalls of transplantation but is determined to help others less fortunate than herself. Although Kate stated some of the facts about live donation, people who need other types of transplants simply do not have that option. It isn't always possible for one reason or another when you need a new kidney either. I think to criticise Holly's family is out of order and a shame that any comment has to descend to this attack. Finally I want to make a point about this being a happy ending-it is because the other possibilities are unthinkable. But they are possibilities many people young and old live with every day. It may only be a happy ending for now, but everyone who undergoes transplantation knows this but the precious time it gives them makes it worth while.

Michelle, 03 May 2009 22:10

Thanks for your comments! Neither I nor anyone else who has posted comments meant to duplicate them, it is a fault with the website and I have reported it. I am not upset about the comments directed at me, more the comments at my family. I am willing to take criticism myself and about the campaign and do not intend to start an argument over it, I think I replied in an appropriate manner and do not regret what I said. I know only too well that transplants don't last forever and so intend to make the most of it while it lasts, but I don't want to dwell on the thought that it might not last for many years to come, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Thanks again.

Holly Shaw, 03 May 2009 22:00

Is it really necessary to post your comments 5 or 6 times? I've reported the duplicates to the moderator. Now I agree with some of what holly and other have said but not all. Facts, 1, transplant is not a clue 2, a live transplant is not 100% guaranteed to be better or last longer than a cadavaric transplant 3, I know of someone who had a cadavaric transplant that lasted over 30 years 4, I know of people who have had live transplant that have never started working. Holly It's great you are happy but to say it is a happy ending is not strictly true. Yes it is the end of that portion of your life but really what you mean is that is the start of the next stage of your life post transplant and can only hope it lasts. You could be on dialysis in 10 years or 10 moonths but anytime of dialysis is better than never getting a transplant.

Simon, 03 May 2009 21:13

Kate Do you realise how offensive and untrue your comments are? People involved in the transplant community are working to promote organ and tissue donation for the good of others spending hours of their free time doing so. I personally know of kidney recipients who have had their kidney for over thirty years. Have you given any thought to the families of those people who have died and donated and how your comments will upset them. You are entitled to your opinions but they are ill-formed and sharing on this forum has only caused distress to many. Pauline

Pauline, 03 May 2009 20:45

Kate, your comment is both hurtful and ill-informed. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but direct criticism of a family whose circumstances you have absolutely no personal experience off is well beyond the pale. Everyone who receives a transplant knows the risks involved - not just the huge risks of the procedures themselves but also the potential post-op hazards of which, as you rightly point out, there are many. Does that mean that I should have been happy with my lot and faded away to a slow and painful death over Christmas 2007 rather than accept the double-lung transplant that has enabled me to do all the things I've always wanted to do but never been well enough for? Every day I'm alive is a better day than any of those in the 3 years immediately prior to my transplant. Yes, there are problems, but it doesn't change the fact that transplants both save and utterly transform lives.

Oli, 03 May 2009 18:46

Hi Holly, just been reading through some comments and i believe that people like Kate are sent to test us, and you are carrying out this wonderful campaign..with may i add tremendous success and i am so proud of you. Unfortunately when someone succeeds and makes a difference it can be rather intimidating for some and the only way that they can confront this feeling is by reacting negatively, not saying this is the reason for this comment...possibly boredom or maybe they are just having a bad day i don't know. I suppose you have to take on these views, and i think its a good challenge to face negative and positive views...so i believe it is good for people to be controversial as it will only make your campaign stronger. However i do not believe it is appropriate to bring in negative points about family members with background information that they are unaware of and have no say in whatsoever. Keep up the good work hol! Love ya xxxxxxx

C, 03 May 2009 18:32

« Previous | Page 6 of 26 | Next »