Seeing daughters marry is 'gift from heart donor'

A proud father says the prospect of seeing his daughters get married next year is a "gift" from his heart donor.

Fifteen years ago, Paul Sturman was on life support and was told doctors had 14 days to find him a new heart.

He had been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy 10 years earlier, when his daughters were just two and four years old.

Mr Sturman paid tribute to his donor, adding: "For anybody to have a second chance at life you just feel so lucky and so grateful."

Mr Sturman, 64, from Hethersett, Norfolk, will see his daughter Megan, 26, marry in May and Lizzie, 28, will tie the knot in August.

"Paul even got to go wedding dress shopping with them at the weekend,” his wife Sara-Jane, 56, said.

"Fifteen years ago, my daughters were still at school, still little girls, and I didn't know whether I was going to see them grow up," Mr Sturman said.

"But I've seen them grow into two lovely daughters who are both getting married next year.

"That's the sort of gift you can give to people when you donate organs.. which other people take for granted."

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease that causes the heart's muscle wall to stretch and become thin, making it harder to pump blood around the body.

In the early stages of the disease Mr Sturman lived a normal life, but as the symptoms got worse, he suffered multiple cardiac arrests.

"It was incredibly difficult because every day I left Paul I was hoping for that phone call, hoping that someone would say 'we've found Paul a heart'," said Mrs Sturman.

"But equally I was almost wishing someone to die. It was an incredibly guilty feeling."

Mr Sturman was on an urgent transplant for list just three days before a suitable donor was found.

He spent about 10 weeks at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge and had to learn to eat and speak again following nerve damage sustained during surgery.

After receiving his new heart, Mr Sturman said he tried to contact the family of his donor through the transplant service - but had no response.

"You can never say enough to that family. Anything you say or do would never pay back the thought of them donating an organ," he said.

"It's such a fantastic thing to do."

According to the NHS, 4,651 transplants were carried out in the year to April and 415 people died waiting for an organ.

There are currently 7,782 people on the waiting list.

In 2020, a new law was introduced in England which meant people had to "opt out" of organ donation. The change in law was designed to increase the number of available donors.

However, ultimately families had the final say, and the consent rate fell to 61% in the 12 months to April, from 69% four years ago.

"Let your loved ones know your wishes," Mr Sturman said.

"Don't leave anything to the last minute, or leave it too late."

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.