Isabel Terry: Heart, lung recipient praises transplant rise

A woman who got a new heart and new lungs six months ago has welcomed record-breaking transplant figures, and urged people to talk to their loved ones about organ donation.

However, Isabel Terry, 43, from Cork, who underwent her surgery in the UK, said that while the 11% increase in transplants last year is encouraging, 600 people are still on waiting lists here.

“I read those waiting list figures every year,” she said. “I was one of them. But now I’m a recipient. Now, I’m one of the good statistics. It’s mind-blowing, really. I’m living proof that organ donation works.”