A boy who had a life-saving liver transplant has thanked the parents of the teenager who gifted her organs.
Ollie Jolliff, five, was just 11 months old when he received a donor liver.
The rare disease causing toxic ammonia to gather in his blood had already claimed the life of his four-year-old brother Kieran a decade earlier.
Ollie’s liver came from teenager Miriam Lee, who tragically collapsed and died at the age of 17.
A friendship has now developed between the two families after Ollie’s mum and dad, Hannah and Mike, sent a heartfelt thank-you letter to Miriam’s parents, Nicola and David Lee.
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Supermarket worker Nicola, 56, said: “We felt this connection through Miriam.
"Both families have been through so much, we felt we had a common bond.
“They lost their first boy and our tragedy was their gain.
"It seemed only right that something good should come out of our loss.
“We are overjoyed that Miriam’s organs have been put to such good use.
“The grief never goes away but to see Ollie so well helps you come to terms with your loss.
“We know that in death, our lovely girl has saved someone else.
“It was what she wanted.
"She was very clear about being a donor.”
David, 58, an education worker from Kettering, Northants, added: “Miriam just collapsed in front of her friend’s dad.
"By chance, he had just done a first aid course and started CPR.
"It kept her pulse going until the paramedics arrived.”
Although Miriam would not pull through, the actions of her friend’s father kept her organs intact so they could be used to help others.
Hannah, 45, from Poole, Dorset, added: “David and Nicola are a wonderful couple whose thoughtful daughter saved Ollie.
"He knows he has a ‘special liver’.”
In total, Miriam helped save the lives of five people who needed vital organ transplants.
The Lees are also in contact with two other beneficiaries.
