Last summer, within weeks of becoming unwell, he was told by doctors his only chance of survival was a liver transplant.

The news shocked him, his family, friends and colleagues.

There was also the sudden realisation of the seriousness of his condition when transplant co-ordinators said he had immediately been put to the top of the list to wait for a suitable donor.

But within four days, he had had the major surgery and five months later has made a remarkable recovery, returning to work and determined to live life to the full.

Next month he celebrates his 40th birthday and in July his 10th wedding anniversary with wife Pauline, two events that, just a short time ago, he feared he might never see.

Although he will be on medication, including anti-rejection drugs, for the rest of his life, Colin believes it is a small price to pay.

He has a clear understanding that he is only alive today because someone else died and their liver was donated.

"It's not something I tend to dwell on,'' he admitted frankly. ''I'd carried a donor card myself for over 20 years and had always believed it was the right thing to do. But now I firmly back the initiative to adopt the 'opt out' rather than 'opt in'
choice for people."

The issue of organ donation is emotive and one that the community is divided on. Every day three people a day die while on the waiting list for a transplant with demand rapidly outstripping supply.

Around one-third of families refuse to give consent for organ retrieval – even if their relative had carried a donor card.
There are 9600 people currently on the waiting list, but last year only 3100 operations took place.

Many health professionals and members of the public back the introduction of a system of 'opting out' or 'presumed consent'.

If it were adopted, every person in the country is considered to have given their consent to organ donation unless they have given a written notice they don't want their organs used.

The issue of presumed consent is currently being looked at by a UK-wide organ donation taskforce which is due to report this summer.

A spokeswoman said the Scottish Government was waiting to see its findings before making any decisions.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has already indicated she is personally sympathetic to the presumed consent system.

But the spokeswoman added: "She has gone on the record as saying she doesn't want any potential changes to be decided by a health minister.
It has to be based on evidence and have full support."

Colin's transplant drama began unexpectedly when he was out for an anniversary meal with Pauline on July 18 last year."

She said I looked a bit yellow and should get it checked out. I had been feeling pretty tired but had been busy at work and was also fitting a new kitchen at home so just thought I had been doing too much."

A visit to his GP suggested he could have jaundice and, when he later had a blood test, he was told to return in three days for the results.

But the same day he received a phone call telling him to go straight back because of a high liver count and was immediately admitted to hospital.

He said: "I've since learned that when it's something really bad they can get the results back right away! I remember when I left the house that day wondering when I would be back."

After two nights in Stirling Royal, he was transferred by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and put under the specialist care of staff in the liver transplant unit.

A scan had already ruled out the possibility of liver cancer which was a huge relief to him and his family.

"I was still feeling very tired but able to walk about and not feeling particularly ill," Colin explained. "At that stage I didn't realise how serious it was. I was moved into the high dependency unit but tests ruled out hepatitis A, B or C. Then they came to me saying my liver was badly damaged but they couldn't pinpoint the cause.

"They said there were two options – a massive dose of steroids or a transplant. I got the steroids and, although it helped a bit, it wasn't a cure."

At this stage he was still being allowed back to his Dunipace home, returning for daily blood tests, but he was gradually becoming weaker and eventually was rushed back to hospital where he was told that he would have to go on the transplant list.

However, doctors then gave him the shattering news that he wasn't well enough yet to undergo a transplant.

He also had to face the stark statistics that 20 per cent of people die while waiting for an organ and a further 10 per cent during the operation.

"My father had come across from his home in Spain to visit me and what I didn't know at that time was when he flew back, he was convinced that he wouldn't see me again.

''But things gradually got better and they came to me on the morning of Thursday, September 6, to say I would go on the list at two o'clock that day," said Colin.

"It was pretty scary and quite emotional. We knew that weekends are the most likely time for an organ to become available because that's when most car accidents happen and suitable donors become available.

''That sounds really morbid but you had to divorce yourself from thinking about someone dying to give you your operation."

Around midnight on the Sunday came the news that a possible organ had become available and he should be prepared for the operation the following day.

Pauline received the same news in a phone call at 6 a.m. and, together with his mum, rushed to his bedside.

The transplant eventually got under way around 10 a.m. and lasted nine hours.

He was kept sedated for two days before being taken back to theatre to have his wound finally stitched after doctors agreed the operation had went well.

"The first thing I vaguely remember is my brother coming in to tell me that Scotland had beaten France at football and I apparently gave him a thumbs-up. After that it was just a case of gradually getting better.

"At one point the doctors thought there might be a danger of rejection but a biopsy showed everything was fine. I was really determined to get well and get out."

Just 19 days after his operation he was allowed home and on January 7 returned to his desk at The Falkirk Herald.

''People are amazed how quickly I returned to work, but I feel really good,'' added Colin.

''I have been overwhelmed by the support I've had from everyone, but have to thank my wife, who somehow managed to juggle her work with daily trips to the hospital, and my immediate family who were also regular visitors.''

The family of the person whose liver he received will have been told he is making a good recovery and Colin has the opportunity to write to them.

"I've not done that yet,'' he said. ''It's not the sort of letter that I could dash off, it needs a lot of thought and I don't think that I'm ready to write it yet.

''I also don't think it's really sunk in that I've got someone else's liver. It's not something I can afford to think about too much at this stage.

"I'm just determined to be as normal as possible.

''But I have to admit it has changed me: I don't allow myself to get as worked up about things as before. I also don't think about how long this liver will last.

"Everyone reacts differently to a transplant. I'm very much of the opinion that the transplant is something that I have had rather than something that defines me."

When Colin was in hospital the sister of a friend the same age as him died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage, leaving two young children.

Several of her organs were donated and he knows that her family has taken comfort from the fact she has helped others.

Wife Pauline (32), a production co-ordinator with an Edinburgh graphic design company, admits she had to find "inner strength" to cope with Colin's illness and subsequent transplant.

She also admitted that there were times when she really wondered if he was going to pull through.

"I don't think we ever realised how seriously ill he was. But a week after his operation the transplant co-ordinator said she had been worried on the Saturday because a liver still hadn't been found. That brought things home to us.

"But he's been great since the op and his general health is so much better. I'm just really glad the last six months are over – nothing can be as bad as last year!"

j.buchanan@falkirkherald.co.uk


ALL SMILES: Colin and Pauline at a family wedding just days before he was rushed into hospital. He was slightly jaundiced and feeling tired but was unaware of just how ill he was