Teen killed in crash left 'legacy' as organ donor

The mother of a teenager who saved four lives through organ donation is advocating for people to "make their wishes known", a decade on from her death.

Fi Braidwood, 17, died when the car she was driving left the road and hit a fence close to her home on Wolvershill Road in Banwell, North Somerset, in March 2016.

Her liver, kidneys, lungs and small intestine were donated to save four people in end of life care. Her mother, Vicki Caldwell, described it as an "incredible legacy".

Anthony Clarkson, from NHS Blood and Transplant, said the waiting list for an organ is "at its highest ever level" and urged people to register their preference.

On 20 May 2020, the law in England was changed to assume automatic consent for organ donation unless you manually opt out.

But ultimately, the decision is left to the family when the time comes.

Caldwell says giving approval for her daughter's organ donation following her car accident was "the only light part of that truly dreadful day".

"It was the only decision that was easy - because Fi had made it," she said.

"We're just so proud of her, and grateful that she shared her wishes so loudly.

"It is another incredible legacy - supporting the ripple effect of organ donation for those on transplant waiting lists."

The NHS said there are 8,242 people currently on the transplant waiting list in the UK.

But only 40% of people in England have registered a decision to donate their organs upon their death on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

On average, one person will die every day waiting for an organ transplant, according to the NHS.

Dr Ian Thomas, clinical lead for organ donation at Southmead Hospital Bristol, described it as ''the ultimate gift that one human being can give to another''.

Charlotte Vockins, 29, from Swindon in Wiltshire, waited for two and a half years before undergoing a split liver transplant in February 2025.

Her liver had become cirrhotic after being diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), a rare chronic disease, at the age of 10.

"Being on the waiting list for such a long time was mentally tough," she said.

"I would have died without a transplant, but I've got many years to gain now. It's completely changed my life."

Vockins urged people to "make it explicitly clear" what you want in order to unburden your loved ones from making that decision "in such distressing circumstances".

"If they're completely sure that's what their loved one wanted, it makes that whole process so much easier rather than second guessing," she said.

Clarkson said when people have conversations around organ donation, families often choose to go ahead with donation "around 90% of the time", but if they are unsure of their loved one's wishes, this drops to 50%.

"Fi left a real legacy in saving the lives of four people through the precious gift of organ donation," he said.

"Something which was only possible because she had spoken in advance about her organ donation decision and left her family in no doubt about what she wanted.

"It takes just two minutes to do and can save nine lives."

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