A SON has spoken of his pride that his mother was able to save the life of a young woman in need of a liver transplant.

Susan Hutchinson, 64, from Elvington, passed away at York Hospital having suffered a brain haemorrhage.

Her family honoured the wishes she had previously expressed to be an organ donor - and later discovered that her liver saved the life of a woman in her early twenties from Leeds who was hours away from death.

Her son Paul Hutchinson, 34, said they have been given updates on the progress of the young woman and it had given some comfort to him and his family.

York Press:

Susan Hutchinson, whose liver saved another woman's life

Paul said: "My mum was the one person in our family who really highlighted organ donation.

"It gives us a bit of comfort, knowing her wishes and knowing that we needed to follow them.

"It's important to talk about what you would want to happen. It's a horrific decision and if you don't know there opinion, more often than not you'd be inclined to say no. Making sure you know the person's wishes is so important."

Across North Yorkshire there are currently 139 people waiting for a transplant and last year 66 people in the county had their lives saved or transformed thanks to deceased organ donation. There are currently 420,201 people registered on the Organ Donor Register in North Yorkshire.

There are 75 people waiting for a transplant in the East Riding. Last year 30 people in the county benefitted from deceased organ donation.

Paul was speaking at the unveiling of a new artwork installation at York Hospital to recognise the gift given by organ donors.

Metal artist Salina Somalya was been commissioned to work on the pieces, ‘On the wings of hope’, which represents the fragile nature of the transplant process.

Joanne Brooks, specialist nurse for organ donation, said: "It's a lasting thank you to organ donors and their families who have made a selfless decision to save the lives of others.

"We hope the art work will inspire people to think about organ donation and make the decision to join the donor register, and just as important, to share the decision with their loved ones."

The art work was unveiled ahead of National Transplant Week, which begins on Monday.

The campaign this year focuses on encouraging individuals to discuss their decision about organ donation with those closest to them. If organ donation is a possibility when a person dies, their family’s support to fulfil their decision of becoming an organ donor is crucial, organisers said. Significantly more families say yes to donation when they know what their relative wants.