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Lawyer’s organs help seven transplant patients
Ellen Widdup26 Jan 2009
A young lawyer who died after being hit by a car has helped seven people through organ and tissue transplants.
Trainee barrister Vicky Johnson told her family over Christmas that she wanted to become a donor if she died.
Two weeks later she suffered fatal head injuries when she was hit as she crossed a road near Mile End Tube station, close to her home in Bow.
The 23-year-old never regained consciousness and her parents, David, 54, and Jennifer, 53, of Stradbroke, Suffolk, and their other children Katy, 26, and Rob, 25, agreed to turn off her ventilator to improve the chances of her organs being suitable for transplant.
Within hours of her death, the organs were used for seven successful transplant at the Royal London Hospital. Patients to benefit included a critically ill one-year-old girl with acute liver failure who had been given days to live.
The others included a woman in her fifties with chronic liver disease, a woman in her sixties who had been on the heart transplant list for a year; another in her fifties with chronic lung disease; a man in his late thirties who got her pancreas; and two women, aged 35 and 40, who received her kidneys.
Her eyes are to be given to another two patients and her small intestine, tendons and skin grafts could help at least three others.
Katy said: “Losing a sibling is one of the most horrific things you can go through. It gave us so much solace when we were told how Vicky's organs had already given hope to seven families.”
Ms Johnson read law at the University of Nottingham before winning a place as a trainee barrister at Gray's Inn.
Katy described her sister as “bright, stunningly beautiful, and a friend to everyone”.
Reader views (4)
Vicky was a dear friend of mine, and I am so so proud of what she accomplished in both life and death. She was an amazing girl and will never be forgotten by those that knew her, and I urge everyone out there to register as an organ donor.
- Rachel King, Nottingham, UK, 26/01/2009 17:40
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Intelligent and beautiful: what a loss to bear. It must be comforting to know that all the time and energy her parents put into her from birth is still paying dividends for others.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 26/01/2009 14:29
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I can't imagine the parents suffering. I hope the fact that their daughters dying proved a life saver for so many others will be a comfort.
- Kerry, Purley, 26/01/2009 13:10
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I wish more people would become donors. There are a lot of misconceptions about the process that, if they were answered, would mean more people would donate. My father, when he died at the grand old age of 83, was still a viable donor and among other ways he helped, his eyes restored sight to 4 people. My younger brother was also the recipient of heart and lungs (he had cystic fibrosis) from a 13 year old boy who had come off his bicycle (he didn't have a cycle helmet). The parents of that child were very good to have ensured that their children were donors.
Well done, Vicky.
- Alan, London, UK, 26/01/2009 12:46
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