Woman's wait for heart could take 'many more years'

Kerry Fear has been waiting more than a year for a new heart

A woman who has lived with a heart condition for decades says it could be "many more years" before she gets a transplant.

Kerry Fear, from Yeovil in Somerset, was born with only three heart chambers, two holes in her heart and two of her arteries the wrong way round.

The 50-year-old has since had multiple open heart surgeries and pacemakers fitted, but said she was added to the transplant list in May 2024 as her organ was "failing".

As NHS waiting lists grow, Mrs Fear said she would "make something of her life" if she got the transplant and "would not waste the gift".

Mrs Fear's journey was first covered by BBC News when she had major open-heart surgery at the age of five.

Her treatments became less effective throughout her life and she is now experiencing issues such as fast and irregular heartbeat.

Mrs Fear has had a heart condition since she was born

"My transplant will hopefully make a massive difference, I hope to just be able to live and do more physical activities than I have my whole life.

"I've got to 50 and I can't run to the end of the road, my dream is to run a marathon. I'd like to be able to go on a few more holidays and not worry," she said.

Mrs Fear - who is now married and has a step-daughter - said a new heart would give her "confidence and freedom", but she believed she could be waiting several more years due to a shortage in organs being donated.

The NHS has warned the number of life-saving donations fell year-on-year nationally amid a record number of people waiting for an organ.

Across the south-west of England, 596 people are waiting for a transplant.

Mrs Fear said she had told her family she would be donating all the organs she could when she died.

"From what I have seen, people that donate their organs, it gives their family pride and comfort – their loved one has done something for someone else," she said.

"I will honour my donor in the fact I will go out there and live as best a life as I can, and hopefully do something for somebody else," she added.

Consent rates for organ donation are at 59% and - despite the opt-out system - families can still override the wishes of their loved ones.

NHS director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, Anthony Clarkson, urged people to take action by registering their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

"Tragically, someone will die today waiting for a transplant and we urgently need more people to register their decision to donate and to have these vital conversations with their families.

"Last year, 60% of people who donated after death were on the NHS Organ Donor Register, which made those conversations with families so much easier.

"People are far more likely to support donation when they know it's what their relative wanted," he said.