For most of his short life, Fife youngster Finlay Bennett showed care and compassion for other people.
So when Finlay died suddenly of meningitis just before his ninth birthday last year, his devastated family simply knew that he would want his organs donated to give others a chance of life.
More than a year has passed, but his proud mum and dad Jenny and Dave Bennett, from Dunfermline, have now been given the Order of St John Award – specially struck to thank families who give permission for surgeons to offer the gift of life to others following the death of a loved one.
The accolade, given to the Bennett family during a moving ceremony at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden, comes at a time when the number of organ donations and transplants has fallen in the UK for the first time in 11 years, with more than 40% of families turning down requests for donations from someone who has passed away.
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For the Bennetts, however, there was never any doubt of what Finlay would have wanted.
Mum Jenny, a teacher at Edinburgh’s Stewart’s Melville College, said: “Finlay was very caring. Whenever a charity appeal appeared on TV, whether it was for animals, children or families, he would pause it and come and ask if he give some of his pocket money.
“If we came across a homeless person in the street, he would ask for a pound to give them.
“I don’t think we ever talked about organ donation to him, but when the question arose in ithe hospital after he died, it never entered our minds how Finlay would have reacted.
“He would not have been amused with us if we refused.”
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Mr and Mrs Bennett, with younger son Frasier, 7, and gran Chris McIntosh, joined other family groups representing a total of 38 of the 98 individuals in Scotland whose organs were donated in the last year.
Finlay died in July 2014, shortly after returning from a family holiday in Spain, and six months later Jenny and Dave received news that has reinforced their belief that they made the right decision about donating his organs for transplant.
Jenny added: “NHS Blood and Transplant contacted us to ask if we would like to see letters of thanks they had received from recipients or their families.
“We said yes and one of them in particular was wonderful.
“It was from the family of a young boy who is very similar to Finlay in outlook. He cares about helping people and does a lot of fundraising.
“Our other son Frasier, who is seven now, knows all about him and always wants to hear how he is getting on.
“It’s so special that he remembers Finlay and knows what he has done to help others.”
* This is National Transplant Week. To join the NHS Organ Donor Register visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300123 2323 or text SAVE to 62323. Further information: www.stjohnscotland.org.uk www.nhsbt.nhs.uk