My dead son gave life to my new friend

The Guardian UK | Alistair Duncan

One is a mother whose teenage son died, the other is the woman who received his liver – and theirs is a powerful and unusual friendship

On a blustery, autumn day in Belfast, Lily Turley and Cara Hearst are sitting together in a cafe. Lily is still grieving the death of her 13-year-old son. Cara is three years on from a life-saving organ transplant. Between them is a powerful bond – it was Lily's son, Daryl, who posthumously gave his liver to Cara.
But the relationship between the two women is exceptional. Last year, 3,740 organ transplants took place in Britain, but the vast majority of recipients have never met their donors' families. There are strict NHS rules concerning contact between recipients and donors' families: there must be consent on both sides before any meeting can take place and, perhaps surprisingly, this rarely happens.
Read More:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/17/befriended-mother-received-sons-liver?newsfeed=true