An emotional mother was able to hold her deceased daughter's hand once more by meeting the recipient of her transplant. Jackie Kirwan, 65, stated that her daughter Georgie Peterson would have been 'over the moon' to know she had assisted Kim Smith, who lost her limbs due to sepsis. Georgie passed away at age 33 on August 25, 2025, as a result of complications from a rare brain disorder that caused debilitating seizures.
A Mother's Tribute to Her 'Human Sunshine'
'We referred to Georgie as our human sunshine,' her mother said. Georgie had been on the organ donation registry since she was 17, around the same time she was diagnosed with her condition. Jackie consented to donate her daughter's limbs after her death, and 64-year-old Kim became the grateful recipient shortly thereafter.
The pair met for the first time earlier this year in a moment they described as 'very emotional,' and this week they enjoyed each other's company once again. At their reunion, Jackie said: 'Georgie's opinion was that the body is what you live in and it's the soul that's important.'
Meeting the Recipient
'I'd decided that if Georgie's donor recipient got in touch that I would meet them. Meeting Kim was unreal. We were both crying and she told me she was forever grateful and she would look after her hand forever,' Jackie added. 'Georgie was great but she believed she was a burden.'
The university graduate first experienced a seizure a week before her A-Levels and was later diagnosed with periventricular nodular heterotopia, a rare condition that causes focal and often drug-resistant epilepsy.
'She struggled with eczema, asthma and depression while her only symptoms of PVNH were seizures and being hypermobile,' Jackie continued. 'Growing up, she used to bite her tongue, randomly wet herself and suffered from a lot of headaches. A week before her A-Levels she had a massive seizure which we thought was exam stress. But three months later, she had another one and was referred to tests. Those childhood symptoms were actually seizures all along.'
Georgie's Life and Struggles
Georgie, close to her sisters Steph and Sammi, studied English at university and loved dancing, the gym, and swimming. However, her epilepsy became so severe that she was unable to drive, work, or use public transport alone. Doctors implanted electrodes in her brain in 2023 to determine the source of seizures, and she underwent further surgery last year.
In May 2025, Georgie's seizures increased, and just a few months later, Jackie found her collapsed in the bathroom. 'I thought she was asleep at first. But her brain had been starved of oxygen and from the way she was positioned, we think she'd got up and had a seizure,' she painfully recalled. 'Despite everything, her theory was always: "I'd rather it was me than have anybody else suffer from this."' Three months later, Georgie died after a three-day hospital stay.
The Decision to Donate
Shortly after, a donation nurse contacted Jackie about the possibility of donating her daughter's limbs. For the doting mother, it was an easy decision. 'It was the easiest decision to agree to the organ donation,' she said. 'Georgie had joined the register when she was 17 but I never realised families still had to sign on their behalf. Georgie had said it was the soul that was important and I agreed. You don't get to know where the donations go due to patient confidentiality. But I later received a letter from Kim thanking me and asking to meet. My first thought was that I could meet her and hold Georgie's hand. But then I realised that was wrong as it is Kim's hand now - not Georgie's. I think Georgie would be over the moon if she knew what it had done for Kim.'
Kim's Story
Kim, the recipient, lost all her limbs after contracting a UTI and suffering from sepsis while on holiday in Alicante, Spain, in 2017. She was later placed on a UK waiting list for a double hand transplant and received a new, working left hand in August last year. The former hairdresser initially underwent a 14-hour double hand transplant operation, but the right hand was not successful. She has now become naturally left-handed, despite her right being dominant before.
An ambassador for Sepsis Research, Kim enjoyed her first Christmas with her new limb last year and said Georgie had given her a 'wonderful gift.' She added: 'It is extremely rare for a donor's family and the recipient to meet. I wrote a letter of thanks six weeks after my surgery but a thank you never seems quite enough. In the letter, I had said I'd love to meet my donor's family and in February, I had a reply from Jackie. We met for the first time at the end of March and it was very emotional. I didn't think I was nervous until she walked through the door and I then was shaking like a leaf! But we chatted like we'd known each other for years. It was lovely. It's so nice that we're still in touch.'
Jackie and Kim are keeping Georgie's name alive by raising awareness about both sepsis and epilepsy.
