Rachael Williams from Bushbury, Wolverhampton, is urging people to register as organ donors after both her children, Daniel and Lilly, survived heart transplants for dilated cardiomyopathy. Genetic testing showed both parents carry the gene linked to the condition. NHS Blood and Transplant is campaigning to add one million people to the UK donor register this year, raising registrations from 29 million to 30 million. Williams says donor families gave her children a vital second chance at life.
Mother's Plea: Become An Organ Donor After Both Children Survive Heart Transplants
Mum's donor plea after children had transplants
Rachael Williams, of Bushbury in Wolverhampton, is urging people to register as organ donors after both her children received life-saving heart transplants.
Her son, Daniel, and daughter, Lilly, underwent transplants within a few years of each other after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart muscle and can be fatal without intervention. Williams says both children are now "thriving," but stresses that outcome was only possible because "somebody made that decision for us, twice; my children are still here."
Emergency Diagnoses and Second Chances
Daniel, now 23, became seriously ill aged 12 after returning from school feeling unwell. Williams recalls: "He went in the bath. He came out and had literally doubled in size from the waist down." Initial A&E assessments suspected a kidney problem and treated him with steroids, but his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital where dilated cardiomyopathy was diagnosed.
Years later Lilly fell suddenly ill at a birthday party, becoming extremely tired and barely able to stand. Hospital tests, including an ECG and an echo scan, revealed the same dilated cardiomyopathy and she was urgently transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital.
Following their diagnoses, Daniel was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where clinicians warned he had about two years to live without a transplant. Both children eventually received heart transplants that Williams says gave them a vital second chance.
Genetic Link And Family Impact
After the diagnoses, Williams and her husband underwent genetic testing and discovered they both carry the gene associated with the condition. "They would not have survived without the treatment," Williams said, highlighting the lifesaving impact of the transplants and the choices of donor families.
"It's a very sensitive issue and not something everybody believes in," she added. "However, it does change lives. It gives families and children a second chance, gives us time with our children and more memories because somebody made that decision for us twice — my children are still here."
NHS Donor Drive
NHS Blood and Transplant has launched a campaign aiming to add one million people to the UK organ donor register by the end of the year, seeking to increase registrations from 29 million to 30 million. The drive responds to a recent fall in the number of families consenting to donation and hopes personal stories like the Williams family's will encourage more people to register.
Williams hopes that sharing her family's experience will persuade others that registering as a donor can directly save lives and help families create more memories with loved ones.
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