Salford woman marks 30 years since heart transplant with skydive

A woman who had a heart transplant when she was three years old has marked the 30th anniversary of receiving the organ by jumping out of a plane.

Lucy Ryan, from Salford, said her parents were told she "might get five years" after the surgery, but she was "still ticking along quite well" at 33.

She said the skydive was a way to mark her three extra decades and included a 30-second freefall, one "for every year of life I've had thanks to my donor".

She added it had been "wonderful".

Ms Ryan also joined about 120 other recipients and donors as part of Team GB and Northern Ireland at the 2023 World Transplant Games in the Australian city of Perth in April, taking silver in the 3km race and finishing sixth in the 100m.

She told BBC North West Tonight taking part had been "just amazing" and felt "a bit like some weird dream".

"Everyone was so lovely, so inspiring," she said.

She said competing "with people who are at the top of their game" had been great and some of the other athletes had been "phenomenal".

Ms Ryan, who previously campaigned for a change in the law to make donations an "opt-out" system in England, said she was incredibly grateful to the family who had made the decision to help her in their moment of heartbreak.

"Transplants usually only happen in sudden, unexpected death circumstances," she said.

"So the fact they could think of another family at that time of unimaginable grief is just amazing.

"If they hadn't, I probably wouldn't be sat here today."

She added that she believed her continued life would bring some comfort to the family.

"I think it's a silver lining for them," she said.

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