‘I used to watch others dance, now there’s no stopping me’

FELLOW students who met Victoria Glen at Glasgow Freshers Fair were amazed to discover she had a lung transplant in May last year.

The 28-year-old, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at six months old, was on a mission to persuade students to sign up to register for organ donation.

She and two friends, Jac Didsbury and Emily Thackray, who call themselves Team Glasgow, persuaded 121 young people to sign up on the spot.

She says: “People were really surprised – they couldn’t believe all three of us had had lung transplants.”

Victoria and her friends are part of Live Life then Give Life, an organisation which encourages people to register as donors and which provides support to others waiting for transplants or recovering from them.

Victoria was put on the register in 2008 and waited more than a year for a suitable donor.

She says life now is unbelievably different. “You have to take a lot of medicine and go to a lot of doctors’ appointments but my lung function and quality of life are so much better than before.”

“I used to sit and watch others dance and have fun while I sat on my chair, but now there’s no stopping me and it feels amazing.”

She says: “I would encourage everyone to register. Being a donor and helping these people makes you a hero.”