Couple whose lives were saved by organ donation urge people to join register

Richard Caulkin had a double lung transplant in 2009, while his wife Wendy received a new heart in 2011 and now needs a new kidney.

Richard and Wendy Caulkin have both had their lives saved by organ transplants (NHSBT/PA)

A married couple whose lives were saved by organ transplants have urged people to join the donor register as one of them faces a wait for a new kidney.

Richard and Wendy Caulkin, from York, met at the British Transplant Games in 2013 and celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last month.

Between them the couple have received a new heart and undergone a double lung transplant.

Mrs Caulkin, 46, now also needs a new kidney after the organs failed as a side effect of the immunosuppressant drugs used to protect her donated heart.

She said: “We felt quite blessed, to be honest, to be alive and to be able to get married. And it was organ donation that brought us together in the first place.

“We owe it all to our donors and their families that we’re alive, that we’re living life, and that we found each other in the strangest of circumstances.”

Mrs Caulkin was diagnosed with post-partum dilated cardiomyopathy, a rare, life-threatening form of heart failure, after giving birth to her son at 23.

She was given a new heart in 2011.

Meanwhile, Mr Caulkin, 44, was born with the lung condition cystic fibrosis and had a double lung transplant in 2009.

Mr and Mrs Caulkin became a couple in 2015 and married a year later, with donor cards tucked into the wedding favours.

They have previously enjoyed city breaks on their anniversaries but have spent this one at home as Mrs Caulkin’s kidneys have now failed.

She is about to begin dialysis and will need a transplant.

“I don’t have a living kidney donor, so I have to go on the waiting list for a deceased donor, which relies on others registering their decision to donate and discussing it with their families,” Mrs Caulkin said.

The couple are urging people to join the organ donor register.

Mrs Caulkin, who is a cardiac nurse, added: “We’re back to me having to rely on somebody else so that I can live and as well as the physically debilitating side of things, it is psychologically really hard.

“I’ve been through one transplant, but this one’s different because now I’ve had a taste of life and I’ve been living it to the fullest.

“People’s lives depend on organ donation – there are more people needing an organ than there are donors and the statistics show you’re more likely to need a transplant than you are to actually become an organ donor.”

Mr Caulkin, a research scientist, described everything being “on pause” for the couple.

“We met after our transplants, so I’ve always known Wendy when she’s been well,” he said.

“To see how much she’s declined in the last year is quite scary. As well as the restrictions on what we can do because of Wendy’s health, it’s also the uncertainty in terms of what’s going to happen longer term.

“When you’ve got plans for the future you want to get on with life, but everything’s on pause again.

“Signing the organ donor register doesn’t mean you will automatically become an organ donor, but it’s about raising that awareness that you could provide someone with a simple, ordinary life. 

“That’s all people want when they’ve been critically ill with a failing organ, to live a normal life.”

Despite the wait for a kidney potentially being years, the Caulkins are “trying to look at things positively”.

“We keep holding on to hope, because without hope there is nothing,” Mrs Caulkin.

“‘Thank you’ is insufficient for the decade of life together our donors have granted us so far. We carry you in every breath Richard takes and every beat of my heart.

“If you haven’t yet, please register as an organ donor this Valentine’s Day – and just as importantly, talk to your family about your wishes.

“That one choice has the potential to create a future you’ll never see – but one that means everything to someone else.”

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Wendy and Richard’s story shows not only how lifesaving, but also how life-changing organ donation can be.

“Sadly the UK transplant waiting list has reached record levels, with 8,200 people still waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

“This Valentine’s Day we are urging people to confirm their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and save lives. By confirming your decision, your family will know your wishes should the worst happen.”