Liver transplant recipient prepares for fundraising challenge

In November 2018, Rachel Thurley noticed that the whites of her eyes had turned slightly yellow. Following blood tests at The Royal Berkshire Hospital, near to where she lived, Rachel was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for urgent care.

Rachel said: “We arrived at midnight after a two hour drive, and the next day I was told that I had acute liver failure and I was placed on the super urgent transplant list.

“That evening I was introduced to the Liver transplant co-ordinators who explained what would happen to me over the next few hours. The following day, I was told the transplant would go ahead.”

Ten months on, Rachel is taking on a fundraising challenge alongside her friends and family to raise money for the liver unit that saved her life. On Saturday 29 September, Rachel will be taking on the Mortimer 8K Charity Walk near her home in Berkshire, and she is hoping to raise £500.

Speaking of the treatment that Rachel received, she said: “The care given to me was incredible. The care and compassion from everyone was wonderful, I really was in the right place.

“I have met a brilliant team of medical staff and professionals who have supported me through a rollercoaster ride over these past ten months.”

Justine Davy, Head of Fundraising for QEHB Charity, said: “Rachel is an inspiration to us all, to have received a life-saving transplant just ten months ago and now fundraise for the hospital is incredible. On behalf everyone at the hospital I would like to wish Rachel and her family all the best for their fundraising challenge!

“It is thanks to generous fundraisers and supporters like Rachel that QEHB Charity has been able to purchase equipment and resources, such as the Organ Ox machine, which have saved liver patients’ lives.”

QEHB Charity, alongside the Ann Fox Foundation, brought the Organ Ox machine to the hospital. This revolutionary machine cleans and irrigates livers that are due to be transplanted, helping to keep them in a better condition and ultimately increasing the number of organs that can be transplanted.

Find out more about how QEHB Charity supports liver patients here.