Michael was at Mass when he heard that his wife Lilly had collapsed at a football match.
Michael got to the hospital to find Lilly in a very serious condition. She died a couple of days
later.
It was Michael's eldest daughter who asked her father whether he'd thought of donating Lilly's
organs. Michael had never thought about this and wasn't very keen on the idea at all "It seemed
totally alien to me". But after speaking to the doctor, and to the organ transplant co-ordinator,
Michael and his daughters decided to go ahead.
Meanwhile Jim Hill was suffering from kidney failure and was waiting for a transplant. He didn't
have too long to wait before a suitable match was found. After the operation, Jim wanted to meet
the donor's family, but realised that not too many families wish to meet the recipient.
Soon after Lillian's funeral, Michael attended a memorial service in Newcastle Cathedral for
families of those who have donated organs and the recipients & their families. Michael found this
a sad experience, but it also brought him some comfort "They call it the circle of life".
Although they had not met, Jim wrote to thank Michael for making his own transplant possible. A
correspondence began, with Michael sending Jim a photograph of Lilly and telling him about the kind
of person she was. However, it was still close to Lilly's death, and Michael didn't feel quite
ready to meet Jim. "When I wrote the letter, I explained to him about the lovely service in
Newcastle cathedral which they have every two years. I said the time might be right in about two
years to meet. And I did really want to meet Jim."
So in the winter of 1998, Michael and Jim arranged to meet. It was an emotional experience for
both of them. The ice was broken as Jim and Michael chatted about their families. "I think
Michael probably got a bit of a shock that Lillian's kidney had gone to a Manchester United
supporter!" said Jim and Michael recalled that "Lilly used to work in a betting shop, and I
think Jim likes a bet . It's a funny thing he said "I seem to get this twitch when I go into a
betting shop" and I said, "Ah well, Lilly never liked paying money out."
Jim said "I've always appreciated the huge compassion in consenting to organ donation and it was
wonderful to meet the man, and to find out about Lillian. I was truly grateful for the opportunity."
