A lucky mother has had the incredible opportunity to hold her late daughter's hand once again, after meeting with the woman who received it in a transplant.
Jackie Kirwan, 65, lost Georgie Peterson in August 2025, who lived with a rare brain disorder called periventricular nodular heterotopia (PVNH), causing debilitating seizures.
Ms Peterson, from Liverpool, had been on the organ donation registry since the age of 17 before passing away aged 33.
Meanwhile, Kim Smith, 64, received the left hand via an operation, having lost both her hands and feet to sepsis in 2017.
Ms Smith, a former hairdresser, had a "very emotional" meeting with Ms Kirwan earlier this year, where the pair had a chance to catch up, allowing the mother to feel her daughter's touch once more.
Ms Kirwan said: “We referred to Georgie as our ‘human sunshine’. Her opinion was that the body is what you live in, and it’s the soul that’s important.
“I’d decided that if Georgie’s donor recipient got in touch, 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.”
Ms Peterson's disorder struck soon after she completed her A-levels, resulting in the neurons in her brain forming clumps as she developed, resulting in epileptic symptoms.
Kim Smith received the left hand via transplant, having lost both her hands and feet to sepsis in 2017
|NHS
Ms Kirwan, who works as a cleaner, said Ms Peterson thought she was a burden and “struggled with eczema, asthma and depression".
Despite attending university and obtaining a degree in English, Ms Peterson's epilepsy was so severe she was unable to drive, work or take public transport without assistance.
After failed surgery in May last year, her seizures increased and she was found collapsed in the bathroom.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The pair described their meeting as 'very emotional'
|SKY
Her brain had been starved of oxygen for too long and she died in hospital three days later.
Ms Kirwan agreed to donate her daughter's limbs but, due to patient confidentiality, had no idea who would receive them.
It was not until she received a letter from Ms Smith, thanking her for providing her with the life-changing transplant and asking to meet, that a chance to witness her daughter's legacy arose.
"My first thought was that I could meet her and hold Georgie’s hand," the mother said. "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."
Ms Smith underwent a 14-hour-long double hand transplant operation in August last year, but the right-hand procedure was unsuccessful.
Now an ambassador for sepsis research, she said Ms Peterson had given her a “wonderful gift”.
She said: “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.“
Georgie Peterson died in August 2025 after living with periventricular nodular heterotopia
|CROSBY LEISURE CENTRE
In the letter, she described how much it would mean to meet Ms Kirwan and the family to express her gratitude.
"I didn’t think I was nervous until she walked through the door and I then was shaking like a leaf," she added.
"But we chatted like we’d known each other for years. It was lovely. It’s so nice that we’re still in touch.”
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter