Jim Lynskey, 21, is a student at Sheffield Hallam University, where he is studying food marketing. While many students are going out with their friends, every night Jim has to charge up the batteries that keep his heart beating. He is currently on the waiting list for a heart transplant which will save his life.
Jim’s heart was damaged when he contracted meningitis as a baby and since then he has had two cardiac arrests. He is the youngest person in the UK to be fitted with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a type of heart pump, which keeps his failing heart going.
Jim explains: “Every night I have to plug in the device which works using wires from a hole in my stomach that connect to a pump in my heart. I’ve had it for around two years but after three it can be hard to remove it and perform a heart transplant so it feels like time is running out.”
The device makes it hard for Jim to sleep and he can’t do a 9-5 job or deal with stress as it could cause his heart to go into a dangerous rhythm. This can make enjoying life as a student a bit more difficult but Jim has used this as a motive to create Save 9 Lives, a campaign which encourages people to sign the organ donor register.
Jim is backing the Be A Hero campaign which aims to increase the number of registered organ donors in Yorkshire by 50,000 in just six months.
He added: “It would be great to see more students signing up to the organ donor register as each person who signs up has the potential to save nine lives. There are over 6,000 people currently waiting for a transplant in the UK so signing up and talking about your wishes with loved ones will be life changing for others.”
To sign up to be an organ donor, visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.
For more details about the Be A Hero campaign visit: www.leedsth.nhs.uk/beahero
