Ian Keillor: Derby man saves lives by donating organs

Mr Keillor was a fit and healthy man before suffering a heart attack

A widow, whose husband had three of his organs donated, said she had no doubt that it was the right thing to do.

Ian Keillor, 48, died on 29 October 2022 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Derby.

His liver and both kidneys were donated to three different men - one of which had been on the transplant waiting list for five years.

Lisa Keillor said she had mixed emotions about the donation but said "I do feel comfort from it".

Before the heart attack Mr Keillor was a fit and healthy man.

Mrs Keillor, who works as an emergency medicine registrar, said she knew something was wrong when he started making a snoring noise in another room.

"I recognised it straight away as the noise someone makes when they lose their airway," she said.

"I ran into him and found that he was not breathing and had no pulse.

"I started CPR and called the ambulance."

Mrs Keillor said organ donation was what her husband would have wanted

He was taken to hospital where a brain scan showed he had brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.

Mrs Keillor was told by the consultant that her husband would not survive.

She said: "Just before he died, he opened his eyes for the last time, then he closed them and his heart stopped."

'Incredibly selfless'

Mr Keillor had previously added himself to the organ donation register.

His liver was donated to a man in his 60s, one kidney was donated to a man in his 30s and the other kidney was donated to a man in his 50s who had spent over five years on the transplant waiting list.

Mrs Keillor said: "It was a massive thing and there's a lot of mixed emotions but I do feel comfort from it.

"He was incredibly selfless.

"It's not a perfect ending because for those people to live your loved one has to die and it takes time to come to terms with that.

"But I have no doubt that we did the right thing and it is what Ian would have wanted."