A year on from her kidney transplant and HRI Radiographer, Lisa Francis, is living life to the full again and enjoying being back at work full-time for the first time for six years.
We featured Lisa’s story last year as part of Organ Donation Week. Amazingly on the first day of the annual campaign she got the news she’d been waiting for – there was a donor match.
We caught up with Lisa 12 months on, as 2026 Organ Donation Week begins today, to see how her life has changed since her transplant.
Lisa told us: “Life was so very different then, and everything I did revolved around my dialysis. I was extremely ill and whilst the dialysis literally kept me alive, I struggled to do any activity. Even climbing the stairs took a huge effort.
“I couldn’t plan anything and certainly couldn’t be away from home for more than a day. I couldn’t shower or bathe properly for four years because I had lots of ports coming out of my body for the dialysis.
"My kids became part of my caring team, and I had to train them on crash procedures when I was on home dialysis. It was an emotional and traumatic time for the whole family. I did as much as I could so it didn’t affect their lives, even removing myself from the transplant list during GCSEs so I could support them as much as possible.
“A year on and my life has changed completely. As well as support my youngest through her GCSEs, I can plan my life now, so holidays and special events are back on. It’s just fabulous and whilst I don’t know my donor’s name or background, I’m so very grateful to her and her family. She will have shared her organ donation wishes with them, which is vital because it’s part of the discussions that families have with the clinical teams and specialist nurses for organ donation.”
Lisa isn’t the only one pleased to be back at work. The support she had from her colleagues and especially her manager over the years has been astounding. Several of Lisa’s MRI colleagues went through donor testing to see if they were a match, and her manager Louise McPhail even drove a seriously ill Lisa to Leeds for her first haemodialysis session.
Louise said: “That was an interesting drive for sure. I’ve forgiven Lisa for being sick in the car on the way to Leeds. We love having Lisa back with us in the department. She’s such a breath of fresh air.
“She’s overcome adversity with a smile on her face, which is typically her. She was able to work from home when she was on dialysis but my goodness, we missed her in department.”
Most of us would accept an organ if we needed one, and you are more likely to need a transplant one day, than you are to be a donor. Being on the NHS Organ Donor Register makes it more likely to happen. Please also talk to your family and friends about the decision so they are aware. Your decision could save up to nine lives.
This week you may spot some painted pebbles around our hospital sites. These have kindly been painted by Karen Piotr, a donor wife and member of our Organ and Tissue Donation Committee. They're just another way of spreading awareness.
