Heart transplant patient thanks team 15 years on
The first ever patient to receive a heart transplant at our Children’s Hospital has been reunited with the team who saved her.
Jasmine Page, 27 from Halesowen, made history when she underwent the emergency procedure at just 12 years old after collapsing at school.
Fifteen years on, she returned to the hospital during World Heart Month in February, where she met with the team and hoped to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.
Jasmine shared: “It’s been such a special experience to return to the hospital where I spent so much of my childhood. The hospital was like a second home to me.”
During her visit, Jasmine returned to the specialist cardiac ward where she spent time as a youngster and even met the doctors and nurses who had cared for her throughout her transplant journey.
Jasmine’s Mum, Saundra Page, shared: “It’s been so overwhelming visiting the ward after so many years, it brought back a lot of memories and it was wonderful to see everyone again. I’m just so grateful for the support they have given our family. It’s our home from home. “
Jasmine developed Kawasaki disease when she was three years old.
The condition caused blood clots to form in her arms and she underwent procedures to remove the clots and repair her veins while she was in primary school.
Unfortunately, the disease also caused aneurysms and swelling of the blood vessels in her heart arteries, leaving her with a cardiac condition which was closely monitored throughout her childhood.
However, she unexpectedly collapsed just before a music lesson at Windsor High School and Sixth Form and went into cardiac arrest.
Jasmine explained: “I was extremely lucky that a teacher was standing next to me who knew first aid. He performed CPR, which saved my life.”
Jasmine was blue-lighted to a local hospital before being transferred to our Children’s Hospital, as it became clear she was in a critical condition and needed an emergency heart transplant.
Specialist surgeons from Great Ormond Street Hospital rushed to Birmingham to perform the five-hour operation alongside our staff. The surgery was a success and Jasmine responded well, receiving post-transplant care from medical teams at both hospitals.
Jasmine said: “The Children’s Hospital has a special place in mine and my family’s heart. They made it such a welcoming environment and not a scary place for a child to go.
“I’m so grateful to my donor and their family – organ donation is a huge lifeline. I wouldn’t be here without it.”
Jasmine was eventually able to return to school and continued to receive care at our Children’s Hospital until she reached adulthood.
However, when she was 24, Jasmine was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), a condition that causes lymph gland swelling and can develop into lymphoma, a type of cancer.
Around one in ten children who have had a heart or lung transplant will develop some form of PTLD.
Unfortunately, Jasmine’s PTLD did develop into Stage 4 Burkitt-like non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Jasmine shared: “I underwent chemotherapy for a year. It was a really difficult time and I had to take a year off work, but I had previous experience of being in hospital and knew I was in the safest hands.
“Unfortunately, PTLD can happen post-transplant, but without that donor heart I wouldn’t be here. It gave me the strength to get through the next phase of my journey.”
Jasmine responded well to treatment and is now in remission. She has since returned to work as a special needs teacher.
She added: “I’ve had so much help and support throughout my life that I want to do what I can to give back now.”
“It’s such a full-circle moment to return to the hospital that gave me my life. These staff members, along with the power of organ donation, made my life possible.
“Please take five minutes today and have a chat with your family about your organ donation wishes. It could save a life, like it did mine, and I’m so incredibly grateful.”