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Monday 24 August – Julie Saunders
To kick-start the series, news reporter for Heart Plymouth, Andy Ballantyne, interviewed Julie Saunders to find out her reasons for donating her kidney to a complete stranger last year. Julie is one of three altruistic donors to have donated her kidney at Derriford Hospital. Nationally, 22 altruistic donations have taken place since the law changed in May 2007.
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Tuesday 25 August – Alex Wallace
The focus on Tuesday was the shortage of kidney donations and the effects of dialysis on patients’ lives. Andy Ballantyne spoke to Alex Wallace from Plymouth who currently comes up to the hospital three times a week for dialysis and is on the waiting list for a kidney. Alex told Andy that he spends four hours on dialysis three times a week but stated the staff make it easier. The piece also included an interview with Transplant Nurse Practitioner, Julie Hicks.
- Click here to listen again to Alex’s interview
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Wednesday 26 August - Donors Wanted
On Wednesday, Heart Plymouth highlighted that the potential number of lifesavers in Plymouth is greater than anywhere else in the UK due to the fact that the city has one of the highest rates of people who have joined the organ donor register. Transplant Nurse Practitioner, Julie Hicks, explained that, nationally, there is a three year wait for a kidney transplant, however, in Plymouth the wait is two years. Nevertheless, the number of people needing a transplant is increasing and so Julie highlighted that the more people who signed up the better.
- Click here to listen again to Julie’s interview
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Thursday 27 August – Maggi Woods
Transplant recipient, Maggi Woods, spoke to Andy about how her life was transformed earlier this year when her husband Reg was found to be a perfect match and was able to donate one of his kidneys to her.
Kidneys transplanted from living donors, who were either related or unrelated, accounted for 19 of the 75 transplant operations to have been carried out in 2008. Last year was the fifth successive year that there has been an increase in the number of patients benefiting from the work of the South West Transplant Centre.
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Monday 31 August – Transplant Games
On Friday, Research Nurse at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and Manager for Team Plymouth, Claire West talked about the achievements of Team Plymouth at this year’s British Transplant Games.
Claire highlighted that eleven gold medals, six silver, three bronze and one trophy were collected by six competitors at this year’s British Transplant Games. The competitors collected their medals after competing in a number of events including swimming, track and field and ten-pin bowling. Claire also mentioned that Terry Wright and Stuart House had been selected to represent Team Britain and were currently in Australia waiting to take part in the World Transplant Games.
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