A Perthshire bride has paid tribute to the organ donor who saved her dad’s life, after he was able to walk her down the aisle.
Stacey Rees (31) from Errol, who married husband Gareth last month at Lindores Abbey Distillery, described being given away by her dad as a “dream come true”.
Dad David (60) has been a diabetic for 51 years, leaving him with kidney failure.
He was put on the transplant waiting list in 2013, and in 2015 received a kidney and pancreas transplant.
Stacey and her mother Wilma said they feared he would not be around for big family events like her wedding, and even put themselves forward to be assessed as living kidney donors.
Although both came back as a positive match, David got the call to say a deceased donor match had been found for him.
Newlywed Stacey said: “I’m still on cloud nine. Any wedding day is special, but having my dad there to give me away was like a dream come true.
“When dad got really ill, it was hard to watch. He was exhausted all the time, the chemical imbalance led to confusion, and we could see him deteriorating whilst he was waiting for his transplant.
“I worked away at the time, so I had written him a letter in case I wasn’t there when the call came, telling him what a great dad he was and thanking him for all he’d done for me.
“Thankfully I made it to Edinburgh in time to see him being wheeled to theatre.
“I remember thinking how lucky I was, and how lucky he was - and is - to have been given that opportunity.”
Since receiving the transplant in November 2015 at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, David is no longer diabetic and the procedure has also lifted the restrictions his condition placed on his life.
Stacey continued: “Dad now walks every day, is able to play golf, and of course, was here for my special day.
“He got his life back thanks to his donor and every November we meet to celebrate that gift, and think of the family who we know will be going through a very different day.
“They’ll never know what they did for us, but on my wedding day that person was in our thoughts.
“We’re incredibly grateful and it made the whole day even more emotional.”
As of autumn next year, the law around organ and tissue donation in Scotland will change, meaning people who have not recorded a decision about donation will be assumed to be willing to donate when they die.
Until the law changes, members of the public are being encouraged to record they are happy to donate their organs on the NHS organ donor register at organdonationscotland.org
