Gift of life – woman donates half her liver to save sick husband

A TRANSPLANT patient yesterday described his wife as "the bravest woman in Scotland" after she gave him more than half her liver to save his life.

Daniel and Jennifer Foster have become the first people in Scotland to take part in a liver transplant with a living donor, after he was told he could be dead in a year without surgery.

Mrs Foster, 26, agreed to donate 60 per cent of her liver to her 28-year-old husband after he suffered chronic liver failure caused by the condition primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

Yesterday, they spoke of their joy that the ten-hour operation was a success and thanked the team at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary who made it possible.

But the couple, of Ardrossan in Ayrshire, who married in Fiji last May, called for more people to sign up to the organ donor register, so other healthy people did not have to go through the major surgery.

The liver is able to regenerate after transplantation, making it possible for a healthy person to donate part of the organ.

However, there are risks – the donor has between a 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent risk of dying – meaning up to one in 100 patients dies as a result of the surgery.

The donor also faces a 20 per cent risk of complications, such as infections and organ damage.

Mrs Foster, a student veterinary nurse, has not suffered any complications and said that now – just over a month after the operation – she feels almost back to normal.

She spent just six days in hospital after the surgery on 16 January. Mr Foster, originally from New Zealand, has also recently been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.

Yesterday, the IT worker paid tribute to his "amazing" wife.

He said: "Not a day goes by (that] I won't look at Jen and can't believe she has been through that.

"As far as I'm concerned, she is the bravest woman in Scotland," he said. "She's just incredible."

Mr Foster added that if the situation had been reversed, he would have donated his liver to this wife "in a heartbeat".

Mrs Foster said she did not hesitate to donate part of her liver to save her husband's life: "I found out about the live liver transplant, and when it turned out that Dan would need a transplant, I put myself forward.

"I had tests for about three and a half months, both physical and psychological. All the time (doctors] were saying, 'Do you want to go through with this', but I was determined."

Mrs Foster said her family was worried about the risks from the operation, but understood why she wanted to go ahead.

Her mother, Mae Welsh, said she knew her daughter was determined to press ahead with the surgery and the whole family supported her decision. She added: "It is a fairy tale. They were made for each other."

Mr Foster was diagnosed with PSC ten years ago, but remained well until last summer.

In September, he was assessed for a transplant and Mrs Foster was tested as a possible donor.

To donate part of their liver, donors have to be the same blood group and a similar size.

Mrs Foster said that after the operation she felt a sore and the surgery had slowed her down.

But she would urge people in a similar situation to consider donating their liver to a loved one. She added: "This is definitely an option people could consider. But I wouldn't have had to go through this if there were enough other donors."

The couple are now looking forward to getting on with their lives together.

Mr Foster said: "(I'm enjoying] knowing that every day I'm getting better. I've got so much to look forward to now.

"It's knowing my life's coming back to me, that's what I'm enjoying most."