'I'm one of thousands who are waiting for a new life'

A WOMAN from Yeovil has spoken of life as one of almost 600 patients in the South West - and thousands nationally - currently on the transplant waiting list.

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With more people than ever before are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the UK, including a total of 596 people in our region, donor and transplant numbers have fallen.

New figures released this week by NHS Blood and Transplant reveal the stark reality that 8,096 patients in the UK were on the active transplant waiting list as of 31 March 2025 - the highest number on record.

With a further 3,883 temporarily suspended because they are either currently unfit for transplant or temporarily unavailable - that means almost 12,000 people are living in daily uncertainty, unsure if they will get the organ they need.

Last year saw over 100 fewer deceased organ donors nationally, resulting in a 2% drop in lifesaving transplants compared to the previous year. In the South West the number of deceased organ donors remained stable with 154 people donating after death compared to 155 the previous year.

One of the patients on the transplant waiting list is Kerry Fear. She needs a heart transplant after a lifetime of heart problems.

Everything seemed normal when Kerry Fear was born but over the next few weeks she struggled to feed and was sleepy. At six weeks old a GP was worried after listening to her heart and referred her to hospital. Investigative surgery at nine weeks old discovered she only had three heart chambers, two holes in her heart and her two main arteries were the wrong way round.

Nothing could be done at the time but Kerry had Fontan surgery aged five to help her, a new surgery at the time. Over the next four decades Kerry had multiple open heart surgeries, pacemakers fitted and procedures to treat heart rhythm problems.

‘The treatments started to be less effective, meaning a heart transplant is now the only option and Kerry, from Yeovil, was listed on the waiting list under the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, in May 2024.