Louise Prashad and Jimmy McGinty both owe their lives to one very special woman – his mum.
Meeting for the first time this month, their bond was instant, as they celebrated the wonderful Sarah McGinty, 52, who donated her organs when she died from a brain aneurysm on April 24 2016. At the same time, Louise had been given just eight hours to live, after developing acute fatty liver of pregnancy – a very rare condition that caused organ failure.
Put in an induced coma, her twins Mia and Leo had been delivered by caesarian, but were tragically stillborn. Fighting for life, as her loved ones prayed for a miracle, the Bideford-based McGinty family answered their prayers by donating Sarah’s liver.
“I didn’t know about the twins until I woke from the coma two weeks later,” said Louise, 31. “I was told that the twins had died by my mum, and I didn’t believe her at first. I felt grateful that I was still alive thanks to the transplant, but I wasn’t sure I would able to go on without my babies.”
But Louise, who lives in Easingwold, York, not only survived – she thrived. Thanks to Sarah’s liver, which she received on April 25, 2016, and the love and support of her rail conductor husband Max, 36, and her family and friends, she is now the proud mum to Ava, six, and Nico, four.
It is an outcome she had not thought possible after coming so close to death when her liver failed at 37 weeks pregnant, following excruciating abdominal pain, nosebleeds, mouth bleeds and developing yellowing skin.
So thirsty she was eating packs of ice lollies every day and downing three litres of water, she’d gone to hospital several times, but was sent home, before being rushed to the emergency room, close to death. “Max was about to go to work. If he’d already left and come home later, then I wouldn’t have survived.”
Her journey to finally having the family she so wanted has not been an easy one. Falling pregnant with twins again on her second pregnancy, she was advised by doctors to have a foetal reduction, as her body couldn’t cope.
She says: “It meant saying goodbye to another child, which was incredibly hard.” As her life unfolded, the woman who had made it possible was never far from her thoughts.
Six months after the transplant, Louise wrote a letter to her then anonymous family, thanking them for her lifesaving gift. She says: “It was a hard letter to write. How do you say thank you to the family who have made such a brave decision and suffered such loss themselves?
“The words just weren’t enough. But I wanted them to know how well I was doing, and what it had meant to me.” She wrote a second letter after Ava was born, and then a third letter after Nico’s birth – and Jimmy’s sister Patsy wrote back.
Louise says “Patsy had just given birth too, and we bonded over that.” And on February 19, the families finally met at Exeter’s Telstar Hotel. “I felt so nervous when I walked into the room to meet Jimmy,” confesses Louise, a corporate partner for the Special Olympics Great Britain. “We both hugged and could feel each other shaking.
“For years I had wanted to thank them properly in person, so to be able to do that was just wonderful. Within minutes of talking, t felt like we had known each other for ages.’” Jimmy, 34, brought his partner Lisa O’Callaghan, 38, and their daughter Lola, five, to the emotional meeting.
Also parents to 23-month-old Emmi, with Lisa – who has a son Jake, 17, from a previous relationship – Jimmy says: “It was amazing to see how well Louise is doing, it means so much to us. “To share the day with her and her family was so special. We are so proud of all she achieved since the transplant, and mum would be proud too.’’
And his mum was not the only hero in Jimmy’s family. His dad Mick died from a suspected heart attack when he was just nine months old and was also an organ donor. Between them, he and Sarah have saved 12 lives. “I’m so proud of Mum and Dad and all the lives they have saved,” he says.
Living proof of the importance of organ donation, Louise has thrown herself into promoting awareness. A prolific fundraiser, she was a regional finalist for the 2024 Pride of Britain Awards and has raised £300,000 for charities including NHS Organ donation, Tommy’s and The British Liver Trust.
Crowned a Ms Crown and Glory United Kingdom pageant queen in January, she will also be representing Great Britain in an international competition. And she is looking forward to meeting Jimmy again – next time with more of his family. She says: “To meet not only Jimmy but Lisa and Lola too was such a privilege.
“And we are planning to meet with Jimmy’s siblings Patsy, Connor and Bernie too. I’ve been able to have children, reach my athletic dreams, get married, complete a degree and fundraise.
“None of this would have been possible without Jimmy and his family making that brave decision and the wonderful gift from Sarah.”
