'Give children a second chance like I had'

Max Johnson joined a campaign to change the law on organ donation after surviving a heart transplant in 2017

A teenager whose life was saved by a heart transplant has urged people to give children like him a "second chance at life".

Max Johnson, from Cheshire, is now 16 and studying for his GCSEs - but in 2017 his life was in the balance after a viral infection damaged his heart.

After an eight month wait, a donor match was found following the death of nine-year-old Keira Ball, from Devon.

Max spoke to the BBC on Organ Donation Week - which also marks the 30th anniversary of the NHS Organ Donation Register.

Max, from Winsford, recalled struggling to keep up with his father when walking to the local shop with in 2017.

"I was behind him I was falling back ever so slowly, that's because I just couldn't keep up", he said.

"Simply walking was like running a marathon."

Keira Ball, nine, was described as someone who "wanted to help everyone all the time" by her mother Loanna Ball

Later that day Max developed a persistent cough, and by the evening he was so unwell he was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Max said after his surgery, at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, doctors told his family he could have died "at any time" during the 196-day wait for a donor heart.

As a confused and scared nine-year-old, when he was first told he needed a transplant, Max said he was adamant he was "not having another heart in my chest".

But as time wore on and by the time the match was found, he accepted it was his only chance of survival.

"When it came to the day of me having the transplant there were a thousand emotions in the air", he said.

"My dad, he was sort of trying to keep calm but you could tell he was terrified, he couldn't comprehend the feelings of how I could go in and he could never see me again."

Max Johnson, pictured aged 11, featured in a documentary about his treatment

The surgery was successful and Max, who loves fishing, is now back at school playing catch-up after missing many lessons.

Despite the length of time since his surgery, he said he often thinks of Keira, who died in a car crash.

Max said: "When I found out who it was, I spent quite a bit thinking about it, knowing that this heart has had a past life and been in someone else, it's hard to comprehend really."

His treatment was captured in a BBC documentary 'Heart Transplant: A Chance to Live', which aired in 2018.

He also became the face of a national campaign to change the law so people would need to opt out of the transplant register, rather than opt in.

'Another chance'

After the publicity around Max's story, Keira's family made contact and joined the campaign - which saw what became known as Max and Keira's Law enacted in 2020.

The NHS Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBTS) said it estimated nearly 11,000 people were awaiting an organ transplant in the UK today.

While the change in the law has increased the availability of donor organs, the service said families were still consulted after death and expected to agree to their loved ones' organs being donated.

The service urged people to make their wishes known to their families and to join the Organ Donation Register, to avoid any delays or complications after death.

For Max said: "Spread awareness about it, there's kids like me waiting in hospital that just need another chance at life."