Couple from York urge people to join the organ register

Richard Caulkin, 44, and his wife Wendy, 46, both received lifesaving organ transplants before they met at the British Transplant games in 2013.

Last month was their 10th wedding anniversary – a milestone they celebrated at home after receiving the news that Wendy’s kidneys were failing.

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The condition is a side effect of the immunosuppressant medication she takes to protect her transplanted heart, which she received in 2011.

She is now about to begin dialysis and urgently needs a kidney transplant.

Speaking about this, Wendy, who has been a cardiac nurse for York Hospital for the last two years, said: “I don’t have a living kidney donor, so I have to go on the waiting list for a deceased donor, which relies on others registering their decision to donate and discussing it with their families.”  

“I’ve been through one transplant, but this one’s different because now I’ve had a taste of life and I’ve been living it to the fullest.” – Wendy (Image: Supplied)

This Valentine’s Day marks 15 years since Wendy was initially assessed and added to the urgent transplant list.

It came eight years after Wendy, then just 23, was diagnosed with post-partum cardiomyopathy after giving birth to her son Joshua.

Speaking to The Press in October 2025, Wendy said: “I had all the symptoms of heart failure; I couldn’t eat properly and grew steadily weaker.”

In and out of the hospital every few months, Wendy’s condition further deteriorated after she went into cardiac arrest during surgery.

She explained: “I suffered memory loss and doctors told my family that I would be unlikely to walk out of hospital again.

“I defied these odds and continued to remain positive – I was a single mum trying to juggle this disease as best I could.”

The pair, who met at the World Transplant Games, have travelled the world together (Image: Supplied)

Richard received a double-lung transplant in 2009.

Having been born with cystic fibrosis, and despite having good health in childhood, his health deteriorated in 2005 while at university.

Four years later, his lung function was at five per cent.

‘I was on borrowed time’

He lived tethered to oxygen and CPAP machines, enduring nine “false alarm” transplant calls and a three-year wait for new lungs.

He explained: “The transplant came just in time.

“My surgeon later said that with the state of my old lungs they would probably have packed up altogether after a couple more weeks, so I was on borrowed time. 

“Being wheeled down to theatre I remember thinking about my donor and their family.

“I woke from surgery not having to fight for every breath for the first time in years.” 

“We never expected to be in the position of needing to wait for a new transplant again” – Richard (Image: Supplied)

Reflecting on his wife’s current battle, Richard said: “To see how much she’s declined in the last year is quite scary.

“As well as the restriction on what we can do because of Wendy’s health, it’s also the uncertainty in terms of what’s going to happen longer term.

 “When you’ve got plans for the future you want to get on with life, but everything’s on pause again.”

‘We keep holding on to hope, because without hope there is nothing’

Wendy said that having to rely on somebody else to live had hit her hard.

She explained: “I’ve been through one transplant, but this one’s different because now I’ve had a taste of life and I’ve been living it to the fullest.

“We are trying to look at things positively and remain positive throughout it all.

“We keep holding on to hope, because without hope there is nothing.”

As they endure the agonising wait for a kidney for Wendy, the couple are raising awareness of the importance of organ donation.

Wendy has worked as a cardiac nurse for York Hospital for two years (Image: Supplied)

Wendy said: “There are more people needing an organ than there are donors and the statistics show you’re more likely to need a transplant than you are to actually become an organ donor.

“’Thank you’ is insufficient for the decade of life together our donors have granted us so far. We carry you in every breath Richard takes and every beat of my heart.

“If you haven’t yet, please register as an organ donor this Valentine’s Day—and just as importantly, talk to your family about your wishes. That one choice has the potential to create a future you’ll never see — but one that means everything to someone else”.

The UK transplant waiting list has reached record levels, with more than 8,200 people currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

To confirm your support for organ donation, please visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or use the NHS app.