A Gwynedd mum hopes her husband’s heart transplant story will improve organ donation consent rates.

Gareth Jones, 43, from Felinheli, took ill suddenly in 2022. Hospital scans revealed his heart was not working properly and was massively enlarged and crushing his lungs.

Gareth received a transplant, recovered well and was allowed home just four weeks later.

Gareth’s wife Toni recalls: “It was such a worrying time.

“When Gareth became ill our youngest was just six months old. We feel so lucky Gareth was given his gift so quickly and now want to spend as much special time as a family as we can.

“Organ donation was something we had not talked much about before Gareth became ill.

“I had joined the Organ Donor Register but not given it much thought. Now the whole family has joined the register and share how important it is.

“It is the greatest gift. We are so grateful to the family of the young man who agreed to organ donation and gave Gareth his heart.”

A new campaign has been launched to reverse a worrying increase in the number of families in Wales withholding their support for organ donation after the loss of a loved one.

From a situation where the family consent rate for organ donation was 10 per cent higher in Wales than the UK average just five years ago, it is now five per cent lower, meaning vital opportunities for transplants are missed each year because families aren't sure whether or not to donate their loved ones’ organs.

In 2015, Wales was proud to be the first UK nation to bring in a system called ‘presumed consent’. This means, unless they have ‘opted out’ on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR), people in Wales will be considered to agree to becoming a donor when they die. However, many specialist nurses working with families of potential donors believe that since the introduction of presumed consent, fewer people are having conversations because they assume they are automatically going to be a donor if the situation arises.  

Families are always consulted in the donation process, so it’s vital they know what their loved one wants to do when they die.

To find out more about organ donation and how to sign the register, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/

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