A RETIRED British nurse who died in Turkey has given the gift of life to three other people, Voices has learned.

Georgina Ann Small (71) is understood to have suffered a fall as a result of a heart attack at her home in Fethiye on April 12.

Despite emergency intervention at Fethiye, she was transferred to a hospital in Antalya, but five days later, doctors said she was clinically brain-dead.

Her husband, Alan, also 71, who she had lived with in Fethiye for about ten years, took the incredibly difficult but brave decision to agree to allow her organs to be donated.

As a result, Mrs Small’s liver and both kidneys were transplanted to three people who had been awaiting donors.

Local media said a kidney and liver were transferred to patients at the Akdeniz Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, in Antalya. A kidney was transplanted to İsmet Gündoğdu, while the liver was donated  to İbrahim Koçgürbüz, a 61-year-old father of two from Afyonkarahisar.

Following the operation, the wife of Mr Gündoğdu met Mr Small and his friend Volkan Sankır who acted as his translator in an emotionally charged meeting.

Mr Small said  his wife suffered a heart attack and fell down stairs and suffered a brain hemorrhage. He said: “We had promised each other that we would donate our organs. I was able to meet the patients requiring renal transplants. They thanked me.”

Akdeniz Üniversitesi Hospital Prof. Dr. Tuncer Karpuzoğlu and Organ Transplantation Centre director Dr. İbrahim Aliosmanoğlu confirmed the liver transplant had been successful. They said  Mr Koçgürbüz had suffered liver failure for five years and hepatitis B and cirrhosis.

Mr Koçgürbüz said: “I couldn’t believe my luck when the news came through. I clung to life and now thanks to the liver transplant I can live again. The British family’s behavior should be an example to everyone in Turkey.”

Dr. Aliosmanoğlu said Mr Koçgürbüz’s condition was improving daily and hoped to discharge him shortly. The doctor said that Mr Gündoğdu, who received a kidney, was also in good health.