Mary Moffat’s life was turned upside down when she was told that two of her young children needed life saving heart transplants.

The midwife, who works at Wishaw General Hospital, now wants to encourage local residents to join the organ donor register, in a bid to save more lives like her children’s.

Mary, from Motherwell, said: “In the year that Rachael started school, she was really tired all the time. I would come home from work every day and find her sleeping.

“My husband had a blocked aorta when he was young and my mother-in-law saw the same symptoms in Rachael as she had seen in my husband.”

Mary took Rachael to the paediatrician at Wishaw Health Centre, who referred her to Yorkhill Children’s Hospital.

Mary added: “Around the same time, my husband called me at work to say that ten year old Stephen had collapsed. There was no lead up to it. He was very active and had wanted to be a professional footballer.

“When Stephen collapsed for a second time, he was also referred to Yorkhill.

“After their tests, we went back to the clinic to see the consultant. The consultant told us that both children had a condition called Restrictive Cardiomyopathy.

“When you are told something like that, you can’t take it in. I was really upset and you try to think that it must be someone else’s children that they are talking about.”

Mary and her husband were also given tests, which resulted in him also being diagnosed with the condition.

Both children were quickly added to the organ donor register.

Mary said:  “They both received their transplants within a year of being diagnosed, which is extremely quick. They have kept really well since.

“To donate an organ is the biggest gift you can ever give. I would like to thank the two families who donated their loved ones hearts so that my children could live.”

To find out more about organ donation and to join the NHS Organ Donor Register, visit www.organdonationscotland.org.