Widow's pride after 'loving' organ donor husband saves lives

A widow has told of her pride after her "loving" husband donated his organs to save three lives after his death.

John Walker, of Warrington, Cheshire, died in November last year after a pulmonary embolism aged 48.

His donated liver and kidneys saved the lives of three men, aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

His wife Sue Walker has joined an NHS push for one million more organ donors to register. She said: "He was a real loving family man. A very generous man and we'd discussed organ donation so many times in our 18 years together - so who was I to deny him his final wish?"

The 50-year-old told BBC North West Tonight: "He lived for his family and friends - some of whom he knew from the age of two.

"He was man of man of quite simple pleasures and he was very hard working."

She added: "I have lost my person and the children have lost their dad, and they are only young.

"It's sadness but sort of made a little bit better, knowing that these men get to live on.

"One of them has actually contacted us and sent us his thanks."

She said John saw it as "important" and his "duty" to donate his organs.

"He wanted to pass his organs onto people who needed them," she added.

The family had been to Scotland, on a family holiday, when the father-of-two fell ill.

Back home, he had a cardiac arrest in hospital. He was resuscitated after 40 minutes.

Walker said: "I went to see him and there was no life in him at all.

"John had had a brain scan and when the doctor came to see me, we hadn't had the formal results, but he knew there was no activity and he was going to die.

"That's when I was introduced to the specialist nurses.

"They were amazing.

"When they brought up the subject of organ donation, I immediately said, 'yes'.

"He wanted to be a donor. There's no question."

NHS Blood and Transplant have launched an appeal for one million people to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register before the end of the year.

Director Anthony Clarkson said: "Family support for organ donation has been in steady decline over the last few years, and we need to reverse that trend."

Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.