THE publication of the Welsh Government’s annual report on organ donation last Friday brought pleas for an increase in organ donation in Wales, pleas which included that of Monmouth woman Kathryn Lewis.

Mrs Lewis, 36, knows first hand the importance of organ donation. She was born with a serious liver disease which, by the age of 33, left her in dire need of a life-saving liver transplant. 

Mrs Lewis said: “I was born with a debilitating liver disease.  A childhood operation and ongoing treatment for my condition allowed me to live a relatively normal and active life for the first 33 years.  I’d gone travelling, got married and given birth to my son, who’s now five years old.

“However, it was following the birth of my son five years ago that I first started to feel very unwell again. A trip to see my GP confirmed the seriousness of my condition and I spent the new year of 2013 in hospital.

“I was informed that my liver function was so poor that a life-saving liver transplant was the only option for me.  I was put onto the transplant waiting list. In July 2015, I was lucky enough to find a transplant match and the operation went ahead successfully.

Organ donation has always been a topic close to Mrs Lewis knowing that one day it would be something she needed. She said:“Thanks to the liver donor and my transplant operation, I now feel better than ever.

“I am able to enjoy a normal and active life with my family once more.  Having known from an early age that I would eventually need a life-saving liver transplant, organ donation was a regular topic of conversation in our home.” 

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething renewed his commitment to improving the rates of organ donation in Wales with the release of he report. He said: “I was extremely proud when we used our new law making powers to change legislation around organ donation.

“We’ve seen improvements in the number of donated organs and 36 per cent of the population of Wales, 1,113,090 people, are now on the Organ Donor Register.

“We are moving in the right direction, but while there are still people dying waiting for potentially lifesaving transplants.  We must do more.

“I want to encourage everyone across Wales to talk with their loved ones about their organ donation wishes so we can see a rise in the number of people whose lives can be saved or improved by an organ transplant.”

Wales became the first part of the UK to change the organ donation system when it introduced a soft opt-out system in 2015. People aged 18 and over who have lived in Wales for more than 12 months and who die in Wales will now be regarded as having consented to organ donation unless they have opted out. This is called deemed consent.