My name is Fran Middleton, and I received a heart transplant
by DCD* method in October 2018. Since then, following closely
the direction of my team, I have been regaining strength and fitness to enable me to undertake some events and activities to benefit the Royal Papworth Charity and honour the memory of my hero donor.

Heart valve trouble from childhood and subsequent operations
including aorta graft and valve replacement left me with cardio-myopathy and a failing heart. Despite this I led an active and adventurous life before my condition got too severe, and to once again be able to look after my loved ones, work, climb, cycle and surf is just incredible, every day I now experience is one I had no medical right to were it not for the expertise of the Papworth team, and the organ donor programme.

This September, accompanied by my friend and fellow border
collie owner Brian Simpson I will bicycle from London to Paris. The sheer fact that I am in a position to undertake such a physical challenge less than a year post transplant, is testament to the incredible skill of the surgeons, consultants nursing staff and continuing care team. But of course the real hero of this story is my donor and every achievement I accomplish will be in honour
of them, and their brave family.

*DCD is a new method of heart transplantation pioneered by Papworth where a non-beating organ can still be donated after circulatory death. This method is currently mostly funded by charity and could reduce waiting lists by a third, ultimately saving more lives. This method was used on me and I’m proud to be the living, cycling, climbing proof of it’s effectiveness. 

Royal Papworth Hospital has always ensured that it puts patients and their families at the heart of everything it does. The Charity is committed to supporting patients and their carers and seeks to enhance the support it provides to the Hospital. Charitable funds have enabled the Hospital to provide care beyond that of NHS funding alone, enhancing the Hospital’s status as the UK’s leading provider of specialist cardiothoracic care and the country’s main heart and lung transplant centre.