New Sheffield hospital artwork to honour organ donation

A pair of proud sisters have praised a new Sheffield hospital artwork honouring organ donation following their mum’s gift of life.
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Gail Oxley, mum to Tara Clayton and Rachael Oxley, died suddenly three years ago, aged just 52, due to a large intracranial haemorrhage.

As her next of kin, the sisters made the brave decision to donate Gail’s organs to help save and improve the lives of others in need.

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Tara, who works as a radiographer at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital, where the artwork has been unveiled, said: “Our mum was unreservedly caring, compassionate with words of wisdom, help and assistance to anyone who needed it.

From left, Helen Brown, Tara Clayton and Clare Croxall, specialist nurse in organ donation at Sheffield Teaching HospitalsFrom left, Helen Brown, Tara Clayton and Clare Croxall, specialist nurse in organ donation at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
From left, Helen Brown, Tara Clayton and Clare Croxall, specialist nurse in organ donation at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals

“She was a leader, strong and independent.

“We all had so much respect for her and I always knew I would install good morals and traits into my own children with the help and assistance of my mum.

“I never imagined a life without her, but there we were on January 2, 2017.

“The doctors in the Hallamshire’s intensive care unit explained the mum we knew was no longer with us and the hope we had been hanging onto was gone. Mum was declared brain stem dead following a large intracranial haemorrhage.

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“We never expected to lose our mum at the young age of 52 and so suddenly - it was a huge shock to all of us.

“However, with the help from the NHS Blood and Transplant team we realised we could change other people’s lives and give others more time with their loved ones, time we couldn’t have.

“We were invited to the opening of the memorial organ donation artwork, which showcased our journey as a donor family from start to now. We were lucky we knew our mum’s wishes and we knew how selfless she was in life, so the decision of donation was made easier knowing this.”

Forever Grateful, which has been designed and produced by artist Stella Corrall, embraces the varying aspects of organ donation, from those in need, those wishing to give and those who have had lives transformed, as well as the medical professionals involved in the journey.

The organ donation team at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals hope the piece will raise awareness of organ donation – to sign up to be a donor or find out more, visit organdonation.nhs.uk

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