Our daughter's death at 18 left us shattered - but she saved two lives

A couple whose daughter died from a cardiac arrest brought on by an epileptic seizure say she has saved "lives in her death".

Beth and Malcolm Owen's daughter Menna, 18, donated her heart and lungs after she collapsed at the family's home in Tonteg, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 1 March 2025, dying in hospital.

The couple have since received letters from the man and woman who Menna saved, with both doing "incredible well".

"Perhaps Menna's purpose was to make an incredible difference to us every day of her life, and to save lives in her death," Beth said.

Figures show that family consent for organ donation across the UK has dropped by almost a fifth in five years, from 69% in 2020/21 to 57% in 2025/26.

Amid this decline, the NHS wants a million more people in the UK to sign up for the organ donor register, with health experts urging people to express their interest and, crucially, to tell their families of their intentions.

Beth said that on the day her daughter died, Menna – who had "well controlled" epilepsy – had been at work and went for a lie down.

"That was a bit out of the ordinary, but she'd been working long hours, I assumed she was tired," Beth said.

She later found Menna in the bathroom.

"She was in cardiac arrest when I got in there," Beth said, adding that Menna had suffered a catastrophic brain injury which she would not recover from.

Weeks before her death Menna had spoken to her parents about organ donation, telling them she wanted to be a donor if anything happened to her.

"Menna said yes, straight away that she would offer anything.

"'They can have anything they want,' she said. 'I'd be grateful if I needed a transplant.' And that was it really," Beth said.

"Little did we think that only a few weeks later we would be having that discussion in the critical care unit."

The couple said they had been left "shattered" by Menna's death, but that her decision to donate her organs had given them comfort.

"I think some people do not have to live a long life to make a difference. Perhaps Menna's purpose was to make an incredible difference to us every day of her life and to save lives in her death," Beth said.

"That's Menna's legacy."

In Wales about 1.4 million people have chosen to donate their organs after their death, while 348 people in Wales are currently waiting for an organ transplant.

Last year, 16 people died before they could receive a transplant in Wales.

Evidence from NHS UK Blood and Transplant shows that families support donation going ahead in 90% of cases if their relative is on the Organ Donor Register, but this drops to below 50% when families do not know if their loved one wanted to be a donor.

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transport, said family support for organ donation was declining, a trend he wants to see reversed.

He wants more people to sign up to the register and crucially to tell their family and friends about their decision.

"I would urge people who haven't already done so to express your decision to donate via the Organ Donor Register and for families to remember that decision and honour it should the time come.

"It's the final act you can do for them to honour their memory and leave a lasting legacy to be proud of," he said.