A young woman from Newham has spoken of her experience waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
Eliza Jeurissen, 20, was diagnosed with a rare kidney condition, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), which means her body is losing too much protein in her urine and retaining too much water.
She said: "Looking back, I had a lot of symptoms that I didn’t recognise to be something so serious.
"When I was diagnosed, it all made sense.
"I was extremely tired.
"I used to play football seriously and was told that my fitness levels were going down.
"I was also swollen in the face and ankles and couldn’t stand up for more than an hour without my legs starting to swell.
"At the age of 19 my kidney function had decreased that much that I had to start dialysis and was added to the transplant list."
Eliza revealed she has dialysis at home every night, for 10 hours while she sleeps.
"It was difficult at first, you just have to adapt to it."
She is one of 8,000 people in the UK waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
"Waiting for a transplant is a physically demanding and emotional journey.
"I often wonder when it will be my turn – it's a strange feeling to expect something to happen but have no power over how and when.
"There are days when I feel like I have no control over my own life."
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Anthony Clarkson, director of organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, added: "It’s really concerning to see the numbers of people waiting for a transplant slowly rising and people are dying needlessly every day because of the shortage of organs for transplant.
"We really need people who want to be a donor after they die to make it clear to their families and encourage them to support that decision.
"I would urge everyone in London who supports organ donation to register their decision and make it clear that it’s what you want should the worst happen.
"It only takes two minutes to register but it could save the lives of people who so desperately need a transplant."
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