An organ donation on EastEnders had a huge impact on a young viewer – and his mum has recalled how he went on to save the lives of five people.
The 2013 storyline featured Dexter Hartman donating a kidney to his previously-estranged father, Sam James.
According to BBC News, the scenes led 18-year-old Cian Pace to become open to the possibility of organ donation.
His mum, Margaret Hitchcock, recalled:
“He said, ‘Oh I would be an organ donor. The only thing is I wouldn’t donate my heart, because that’s my essence, and my eyes.’
“And we laughed, and that was the end of it. We put it behind us because we didn’t think that would ever happen.”
Several weeks later, just after Cian’s 19th birthday, he tragically passed away after a car crash.
Mrs Hitchcock continued:
“When he was in hospital on life support they said, ‘Would you be interested in him being a donor?’ And we both said, ‘Yes we would.’
“If it hadn’t been for watching EastEnders, we wouldn’t have known that.”
As per his wishes, Cian’s eyes and his heart weren’t donated – but other organs ended up helping to save the lives of five different people who needed transplants.
His mum added:
“One was a two-year-old boy, one was a 14-year-old girl, one was a man in his 30s, and one was an older man.
“That little boy might then go on to have a family, that young girl now can go to university, and they have a life.
“I felt very sad but I felt very proud that he didn’t just go to waste. He saved five people’s lives.”
