NHS Fife recently hosted its first ever memorial service to remember those who have given the generous gift of organ and tissue donation.
The ‘A Light of Love’ memorial service was held at The Old Kirk in Kirkcaldy.
The service, which was held in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), offered an opportunity for reflection and memory for all those touched by organ donation in Fife, either as the family of a person who had donated their organs or tissues, a member of healthcare staff or someone who has benefited from a life changing transplant.
The memorial service was attended by family members and healthcare staff from across Fife. Family members shared personal moving stories about their loved ones and were offered the opportunity to leave a message of remembrance for those they held dear.
NHS Fife Director of Nursing, Janette Keenan, attended the memorial and spoke to close the service. Mrs Keenan said:
“Our memorial service has been many months in the planning, and we were really pleased to see so many people attend and remember those they held so dear.
“Organ and tissue transplants offer life-saving and life enhancing chances to many people in Scotland. However, for everyone who receives a transplant from a deceased donor, there is a patient who dies and a family who suffer loss and grief. For many, the
act of donation offers hope that their loved one, even in death, has allowed someone the chance to live or have an improved quality of life.
“Though many tears were shed over the course of the night, there was joy too as family members shared stories about their loved ones and spoke of own personal experiences of grief, while paying tribute to those who gave the precious gift of life to others.”
