A SALTCOATS woman whose life was saved by two liver transplants has backed a campaign to increase the number of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Cat Reid, 29, received her first transplant aged just 18 and her second transplant at 21 after being diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis when she was two.

The former carer has spoken of her gratitude to both her donors, and their families, for saving her life as she encouraged people to consider joining the NHS Organ Donor Register and share their decision.

Statistics released to coincide with the ‘We Need Everybody’ campaign show that there are currently 4,345 people in Scotland who are living with a transplant, thanks to organ donors and their families.

Currently, 45 per cent of the population in Scotland is on the NHS Organ Donor Register – however with someone dying every day in the UK while waiting on an organ transplant, the more people that join, the more lives can be saved.

Cat was first listed for transplant aged 17, after a massive bleed in her gullet caused the teenagers health to seriously decline. She then contracted a severe lung infection which threatened her life, but thankfully, following recovery, a suitable liver was found and the transplant went ahead.

Cat’s liver condition was so aggressive that it attacked her new liver, resulting in rejection. Six months after the transplant, the 18-year-old was back where she’d started enduring lethargy, severe itching and jaundice.

Cat was put on the transplant waiting list again in January 2009 and her health continued to deteriorate, leaving her barely able to walk and heavily jaundiced. Her second transplant went ahead in the November, however complications related to the surgery and an additional operation to reconstruct her bile ducts resulted in a long period of recovery.

Cat said: “Growing up I always knew I’d need a transplant, but it wasn’t really spoken about. I suppose I didn’t want to face it, but I was so ill that eventually I just wanted my liver out of me and to feel better. I was badly jaundiced, had no energy and no quality of life.

“After my first transplant I remember waking up and my eyes were white, I had rosy cheeks and I was back on my feet really quickly. I told nurses that it felt like someone had gone in with a pot scourer and cleaned out my insides. It was amazing.

“Doctors described the liver I’d been given as ‘pristine’, but my body didn’t want it. I really struggled mentally, as I had gone from feeling better and having hope to being back at square one. Things were really difficult by the time I was listed for my second transplant, and my family was told that I didn’t have long if a suitable match wasn’t found. Thankfully I was given a second chance.

“Recovery was long, but now life is good. I have osteoporosis and am unable to work which I hate, but I know that I’m lucky to be here at all. I have my house, my partner Campbell and much to live for, something I’ll never take for granted.”

Speaking about the difference organ donation can make, Cat said:

“If my story makes one person consider joining the NHS Organ Donor Register then I’ve done my bit. Everybody deserves the chance of life that I’ve been given, and there are so many people out there living with liver failure. To me, life is on loan and if someone can pass on that gift when theirs comes to an end then that can only be a good thing.

“I owe my life to my donors and their families and think about them every day. With my second transplant, I felt guilt at first, but now their gift is now part of me. I regard that person as my guardian angel and will never stop being grateful.”

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register, visit weneedeverybody.org