Ruby wedding celebration raises funds for transplant unit

Sue and Philip Wainwright celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary earlier this year and used the occasion to raise money for the Liver Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. In lieu of gifts, guests were asked to donate to the Liver Unit fund within the hospital’s official charity, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity.

Sue and Philip’s son John, 28, received a liver transplant in 2007 and the family have been fundraising for the unit ever since, donating over £4,000 in 2008.

The Wainwright family own and run the Dodington Lodge Hotel in Whitchurch, Shropshire and used the hotel as a venue for their ruby wedding celebration. Sue explains: “Celebrating 40 years of marriage was a great excuse for a party and a chance to raise some funds for the Liver Unit. Thanks to the generosity of our friends and relatives, we managed to raise £1,000. This included a donation of over £200 from the Whitchurch and District Probus Club.

“While fundraising can never fully express our gratitude for the gift of life our son received, we hope that the money we donate to the Liver Unit can go some way towards saying thank you: both for the skill and care given by the team and the amazing gift from the donor’s family which saved our precious son’s life.“

Chris Bishop, Liver Outpatients manager at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, added: “John has been coming to the unit for a number of years and it’s great that he’s doing so well. We are so grateful for the fundraising the Wainwright family have undertaken – the money will be put towards our FibroScan Appeal. The appeal aims to raise funds to purchase a second machine for the department. The FibroScan machine provides instant readings of the stiffness of the liver which, in many cases, can avoid the need for the lengthy and uncomfortable process of a biopsy.“