My daughter donated her hand to a stranger – holding it again has given me comfort

Holding your daughter's hand is something most mothers would take for granted.

But for Jackie Kirwan, it means so much more.

Her daughter, Georgie Peterson, died last year, aged 33, after a rare brain condition caused a fatal seizure.

But Georgie, from Liverpool, donated her hand to quadruple amputee Kim Smith, who had it transplanted last autumn.

Now Jackie, 65, has met Kim and says holding her daughter's hand once more has "given me huge comfort... there's a little piece of her still there".

Kim, 64, from Milton Keynes, lost all four limbs eight years ago after contracting sepsis from a urinary tract infection.

After being on the waiting list for almost four years, she said being given a new hand was "the most precious gift".

The former hairdresser, now a campaigner for sepsis awareness, sent an anonymous letter of thanks via the transplant team at Leeds General Infirmary to her donor's family, who agreed to meet her.

"I just felt I had to say thank you for such an incredible gift," she said.

"It really has changed my life so much. I've been able to hold my youngest granddaughter's hand... it's life-changing, completely."

Meeting the recipient of her daughter's hand had been "amazing", Jackie said.

She described Georgie as "human sunshine" and said her daughter knew from the age of 17 that she wanted to be on the Organ Donor Register.

"Throughout the last 16 years, she did many times say, 'I'm not going to have a long life,'" she said.

Georgie had a rare brain condition called periventricular nodular heterotopia (PVNH) that caused cluster headaches and seizures.

She wrote a book about her condition called Freaks Like Me and also made a podcast about rare diseases.

In February 2025, she underwent pioneering surgery at Liverpool's Walton Centre to treat the seizures.

But later that year, she died after suffering a fatal seizure in the middle of the night.

Georgie had never discussed limb donation with her mother, but when Jackie was approached by the transplant team, she thought: "If I'm giving heart, liver, lungs, kidneys... what difference does it make, and it will change someone's life."

Jackie said if Georgie knew what a difference she had made to Kim, "she would be buzzing".

Georgie's older sister Steph, 40, said meeting Kim had been bittersweet for the family.

"Kim getting Georgie's hand is amazing... but also we had to lose Georgie for that to be possible," she said.

"Georgie would love Kim... she was all for helping people through her book and her podcasts... her life was helping others."

Younger sister Sam, 28, said the gift Georgie had given was "inspiring" but also "overwhelming" because the grief was so raw.

Kim said she had never dreamt she would meet her donor's family, and that the experience had been "absolutely incredible".

She and Jackie have now met twice, and plan to stay in touch.

"We just clicked. I'm glad I like her," said Jackie.

"I can't imagine the different emotions if we didn't get on. She's now an honorary scouser."

• Details of support for bereavement are available at BBC Action Line

NHS Blood and Transplant said limb transplants were rare and not covered by the Organ Donor Register.

"If people agree to donate a loved one's organs for lifesaving transplants, and they are close enough to the transplant centre [in Leeds], and they are a match, the organ donation nurse can discuss the option of limb donation," a spokesperson said.

"Generally, there are 8,000 people on the transplant waiting list and one person dies every day waiting for a transplant."

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.