A Vancouver woman whose son saved lives by donating his organs now needs a transplant

Vancouver woman pleads for donor A woman is sharing her story of the agonizing wait for a life-saving kidney transplant, hoping more people will sign up to be organ donors.

Heather Cardno is putting out a plea for a kidney transplant that could save her life.

The Vancouver woman lost her son 11 years ago to suicide. The grief of her only child's death is still painful to bear, but, she finds comfort in knowing his loss gave life to a stranger. Both of his kidneys and his liver were donated after he died.

"The doctors at BC Transplant ended up approaching us for an organ donation and we said of course, absolutely,” said Cardno.

But now, Cardno sits on the opposite side of the transplant journey.

She was diagnosed with kidney disease, a life-changing condition, six years ago.

"In January 2022 it started to really go down hill fast,” she told CTV News.

The disease affects the way her body filters blood. There is no cure for her disease, the only solution to normalcy is a transplant.

She's unable to be put on the organ donor list until she's received dialysis for at a least year. Dialysis requires her organs to be functioning at at least 10 per cent, hers operate at 12.

"It enters my mind a lot because, if (my son) was here, would he be a match for me? I don't know if he would be a match for me...but that's life."

She says it’s hard not to feel hopeless most days, especially when she knows that more than 500 people are waiting for an organ transplant in B.C. alone.

Dr. Sean Keenan the provincial medical director for donation services at BC Transplant says the conditions of people waiting vary, with some "clinging to life" and others seeing their lives and activities limited due to their illnesses.

"Generally what I hear from them is intense gratitude,” Keenan says, describing how people react to being given the gift of life. "It's always very positive to hear, very moving stories.”

Cardno hopes she will be able to share one of those stories herself if she can find a match. She's coming forward with her experience to try and encourage more people to become donors – like her son was.

"You can really make a difference for someone. If a person signed up and went through it and would be organ donor for me, that would save my life,” Cardno said.

Kidney transplants are different from other organ transplants, kidneys can be from living donors. Last year there were 74 recipients in B.C.