By David Churchill
GRIEVING parents are urging more people to become organ donors after their daughter lost her lifelong battle with a rare heart condition.
Jennie Baker, 32, from Bookham, needed a heart transplant, but died before a donor could be found.
She was taken to Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, specialists in heart surgery, on January 31, after being told Surrey hospitals lacked the expertise to deal with her case.
Her mother and father, Janet and David, moved to Newcastle from their Ashtead home to support her, but she died just four days after they arrived in the north-east.
"It is tough for those of us left behind," said Mr Baker. "The fact she died so soon took everyone by surprise.
"Jennie achieved so much in her 32 years and it was a shame she didn't have this last set of surgery because she wanted to do so much more. She was a superb person to be around.
"Jennie made friends very easily and many have said they were inspired by her fortitude and courage. She has left an empty space in everyone's heart."
Tributes were paid before her funeral on March 8 at Randalls Park, Leatherhead, which was attended by 150 people.
Facebook posts and cards from loved ones described her as "brave", "courageous" and "inspirational". One friend said she was a "generous, kind-hearted person with a smile that would light up the room".
Miss Baker, who lived in Middlemead Close, was born with corrected transposition of the great arteries and needed surgery at just two days old.
She since had two operations for the condition, in which the heart's two main exit pumps, which separately circulate blood around the lungs and body, were connected the wrong way round.
The condition meant the pump supposed to circulate blood around her lungs was working too hard and deteriorated slowly after 32 years, leaving her desperate for a donor.
Mr and Mrs Baker added: "The number of donors has gone down drastically.
"It doesn't occur to people to donate and we would really urge people to come forward.
"It doesn't cost anything and it can give a tremendous life-saving gift to someone. It is the greatest gift someone can give to anyone else."
Jennie agreed to donating two corneas before her death, and that has allowed two blind people to see again, according to doctors at Freeman Hospital.
She was a member of the Grown Up Congenital Heart Patients' Association (GUCH), scaling Mam Tor mountain in the Peak District with the group.
To donate to the charity, which helps people with heart diseases, send a cheque made payable to "The GUCH Nurses Research 1078" to Longhurst Funeral Directors, 8 Pound Lane, Epsom KT19 8RY.
To register for a donor card visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.
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