A mother of two who suffered severe arm injuries in a car crash has undergone pioneering transplant surgery.
Jo Macleod’s shattered right elbow was rebuilt by surgeons using tissue from a donor.
Doctors re-sculpted the bone then grafted a donor tendon on to her joints. In the long-term, this will encourage her own tissue to re-grow.
The interior designer, 42, underwent the five-hour procedure at University College Hospital after suffering years of pain. Even simple tasks such as dressing her two young children had become difficult.
Today, Mrs Macleod, from Victoria Park, urged people to sign up to the organ donor register and help transform lives like hers.
She said: “This has made an enormous difference to my life and I’m so grateful. My elbow had been totally smashed and was held together by all sorts of metalwork — it was a gnarly mass of pain. Before, everyday things were difficult such as eating, driving and helping to dress my two young children each morning. My operation may not be life-saving but it’s definitely life-changing. It’s offered me the hope of a life without pain.”
Mrs Macleod was left with both arms and legs severely broken after a head-on collision 15 years ago. The tendon transplant was carried out by consultant James Youngman, an orthopaedic trauma specialist, and his team earlier this year.
Rebecca Westlake, a specialist nurse for organ donation at University College London Hospitals trust, said people understood less about the benefits of donating tissue than they did about donating organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys.
She said: “We are keen to raise awareness and to encourage people to consider donating tissue as well as organs after death. Nurses should also consider discussing it with patients and their families.”
UCLH is including information about tissue donation in new bereavement packs.
