At age 15, Katie Mitchell was told by doctors that she was nearing the end of her life due to permanent lung damage and heart failure from a rare congenital condition.
But she overcame the odds with a heart and lung transplant and, at the age of 53, became the UK's longest-living recipient of the procedure.
Mitchell was diagnosed with Eisenmenger syndrome when she was 11 years old. She had high blood pressure in her pulmonary arteries, which caused increased resistance to blood flow through the lungs, leading to permanent lung damage and heart failure.
Mitchell underwent a combined transplant at Royal Papworth Hospital in September 1987. The procedure is so rare that only around five are carried out in the UK each year.
“Thanks to organ donation, I was given a normal life,” she said.
“I think about my donor a lot, especially on the anniversary of the transplant. I think about their family and how their family must have felt at that time.
“I just know that my donor was a young woman. Her family made this decision at a terrible time in their lives. I am so grateful.
“It’s very difficult to put into words what it feels like to know that I am now the longest-living heart-lung recipient in the UK. It’s a mixed feeling.
“People I know who have had the same transplant have passed away in front of me, but it's a blessing and an amazing feeling that I had so much extra time.
“I don't really know why it worked so well. Maybe the immunosuppressants work well for me. Everyone has so many different reactions to medications and everyone has a different treatment regimen.”
There are currently 8,124 people on the UK transplant waiting list, including 12 awaiting a heart and lung transplant.
Mitchell's transplant is working well. She also received two kidney transplants from deceased donors in 1994 and 2015.
Mitchell, from Sidcup, south-east London, said: “I was at an event in Papworth and there were a number of young women there who had recently had heart and lung transplants.
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“I think it was nice for them and their parents to see how long I and other people lived.
“Very often people are told that they only have five or 10 years to live with a heart or lung transplant. Being able to see me and other people who have lived for many years made a big difference to them.
“I think my story is just proof that organ donation and transplantation really work and you can live a normal life.”
Mitchell, who is married and has a stepdaughter, supports National Health Service Blood and Transplant is calling on people to confirm their support for donation on the NHS organ donor register.
Marius Berman, Director of Transplant Surgery at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is great to see Katie continuing to live life to the fullest 38 years after her transplant.
“This significant success is testament to the skill of many NHS teams, the generosity of donors and the resilience of patients like Katie.
“Her journey brings true hope to those currently awaiting a transplant and reminds us all of the importance of organ donation.”
