Life after death through donation

Friends of a Londoner killed in a hit-and-run accident have revealed how his donated organs saved the lives of four people.

For young and old

Ice hockey player Mat Hoxby, 35, was so fit at the time of his death that surgeons were able to carry out the organ transplants successfully.

Doctors at The Royal London Hospital used his liver, both kidneys and heart to help patients aged from 27 to 62.

They included a man who had been on dialysis for 12 years and was in desperate need of a kidney transplant.

A helpful soul

Sarah Martin, a friend of Hoxby, said he had always wanted to help others.

His fitness instructor, 35, said: “Mat was great fun and into keeping fit. Lots of people were left wondering: ‘Why Mat?' Mat was like a cat with nine lives, everyone thought he was going to pull through.

“But he was someone who always wanted to help. He carried a donor card but I don't think he was on the register. It gives us some consolation to think this gift has come out of such a tragedy.''

Twist of fate

Hoxby was declared brain dead after spending 12 days at the Royal London's intensive care unit.

The member of the Romford Tornadoes and Westminster Statesmen ice hockey teams suffered multiple injuries after being hit while on his scooter on Kingsland High Street in Dalston last August. The transplants took place last September.

His family, from Romford, allowed the surgeons to go ahead after receiving advice from a specially trained nurse.

Experts said the case highlights the need for more organ donation coordinators in hospitals, who are trained to tell relatives about the benefits of donation.

There are 38 in London hospitals including one at Barts and The London NHS trust. It is part of a plan by the NHS to increase the number of organs donated.

The majority of transplants come from patients whose families have given consent. Only about two in five patients who donated organs last year were on the donor register.

The great debate

Gordon Brown has backed a proposed change in the law which would mean people would be presumed to consent to being a donor unless they actively opt out.

Doctors have opposed this and called for an improved donation system instead.

Julie Whitney, donor transplant coordinator at Barts and The London NHS, said: “Every year the lives of thousands of people across the UK are saved or improved, thanks to the transplant of organs donated by people who are complete strangers to them.

"Of the patients in the trust who donated organs last year, about 40 per cent had registered with the NHS organ donor register.

“The consent for the others was from patients' families when the patient had been identified as brain dead with no chance of recovery or survival, taking account of what the patient would have wanted.''