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Art show celebrates transplant successes
Anna Davis5 Sep 2008
A London father whose life was saved by a lung transplant is the subject of a new art exhibition.
The installation by photographer Tim Wainwright and sound artist John Wynne will detail the health battles of Sanjay Joshi and other patients who underwent major surgery at the Harefield hospital over the past three years.
The 44-year-old was filmed and photographed as he recovered from his operation, and visitors will be able to hear him discussing his hopes for the future in a frank interview.
Mr Joshi, who is taking part in the exhibition, at an east London gallery, in honour of the 36-year-old woman who donated her lung to him, today called for a radical change to transplant laws.
It comes as doctors are debating whether to switch from the current "opt-in" system for donation to one of presumed consent.
He said: "I was told I had one year to live if I didn't get a transplant because my lungs had been destroyed by a condition called Sarcoidosis.
"I was one of the lucky ones - I was on the waiting list and found a match within three months. I was rushed to hospital and telephoned my family on the way to say goodbye just in case. I had even made a video for my son to remember me by."
The exhibition offered "real insight" into how a transplant patient feels, Mr Joshi said. "The operation meant I could have another child with my wife, which we didn't do before because we thought I would die. I now have two sons.
"The Government should change the law so everyone donates by default. If she had not been on the transplant register I would have been dead by now."
Transplant is at the Nunnery Gallery in Bow Road until 28 September.
