A BRADFORD man who received a life-saving heart transplant is being featured in a special exhibition promoting organ donation this weekend.
Father-of-one Kevin Ferdinand, from Undercliffe, needed the major operation in early 2018 after beginning to feel unwell after returning from a trip abroad.
Mr Ferdinand initially thought he had flu when he got home from Barcelona in 2017, but it actually turned out to be a serious virus affecting his heart, which led to major organ failure.
He had just a seven per cent heart capacity, and was kept alive by life support machines while he waited for a donor.
When a donor was found, Mr Ferdinand underwent a major operation, “dying” two or three times on the operating table, and his live was saved in April 2018.
Within three months, he was back at his desk as a data improvement officer for the NHS.
The exhibition, which runs from today until Sunday, May 5, at Leeds City Museum, aims to raise awareness of the life-changing effect of organ donation, in an effort to get more people to become organ donors.
Mr Ferdinand, who works at St Luke’s Hospital, said: “Only seven per cent of my heart was working.
“I had to have a few operations and had to have a BIVAD – a machine that simulates the function of the heart, pumping the blood in and out of the body.”
“I was confined to the hospital and had completely lost my independence – which was a huge shock to the system.
“There was a great team around me and I just had to trust that they would help me back to health.
“I have a young daughter and knowing I wanted to be there for her absolutely helped me through. I had to keep thinking that I would just keep going, stay strong, just for her.”
“Being in that situation gives you a new perspective on life. I am so appreciative of everything I have. Now, my main focus is on raising awareness and helping other people in the same situation.”
“You don’t really think about what a privilege it is, to be able to work, until it’s taken away from you. For me, the fact that I can get up every day, go to work, and make a difference, is my biggest success.”
The exhibition is being held by Yorkshire organ donation campaign Be A Hero, and features nine organ recipients from the county and their stories and achievements; from fundraising, climbing mountains, sporting triumphs or simply being able to work and be a father.
‘Nine Lives Saved - The Transplant Gallery’ is free and open to the public from 10am to 5pm, and features Mr Ferdinand and eight other people, including a man who received a hand transplant, and then used that hand to administer CPR to his wife who had suffered a cardiac arrest.
For more information or to sign up to the organ donor register, visit organdonation.nhs.uk
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