Both, however, underwent liver transplants after medics warned that the life-saving operation was their only hope.

And unlike the hard-drinking late star, who appeared to take his transplant for granted, Margaret (60) gives thanks every day for her second chance at life.

After being dogged by ill-health for over a decade, Margaret – whose medical condition is not related to alcohol – is slowly recovering her strength and can at last look to the future.

A blood test revealed Margaret suffered from primary biliary cirrhosis and for years it was controlled through daily medication until three years ago when her liver began shutting down.

The liver is the largest organ in the body and one of the most complex, performing more than 400 functions needed to keep the body healthy. Symptoms of liver disease include mental confusion or coma and as Margaret's health deteriorated, she was constantly in and out of hospital.

"The tablets did help keep the symptoms at bay but I suffered regular blackouts which were very frightening for me and my family. I was there but not there and sometimes I was like Jekyll and Hyde," she said.

"I was sleeping just about all the time and I had no energy. I was not fit to do anything and everyone in the family rallied round to help. The only thing I could do around the house was put the washing in the washing machine but I couldn't hang it out, my husband Mike had to do that.

"I had to be put in the bath and washed. I was just like a baby. I wasn't able to eat much as I was sick so often.

"I never realised just how important your liver is until mine went wrong."

The comas were the worst. Sometimes Mike, who works as a milkman, would arrive back at their home in Kirkton Place, New Elgin, and would know by the fact the curtains were still closed that something was wrong. Doctors and ambulance crews were regular visitors to the house and Margaret paid tribute to their kindness along with that of all staff at Dr Gray's Hospital who cared for her.

It was in February last year that doctors broke the news to Margaret that medication was not going to help her condition and that a transplant was her only hope, leading to her undergoing a series of tests in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Being put on the UK-wide transplant list was daunting, Margaret admits, but at the same time something of a relief as she knew her health was deteriorating and that there was no other option.

Margaret was sent home with a bleeper and tried not to dwell on the fact that a tragedy would have to strike someone else and their family for her to be called.

"I had to block out the fact that someone else would have to die.

"Unlike the kidneys, you only have one liver and though it would have been possible for one of my family, if they were compatible, to have donated part of their liver to me, I didn't want to put anyone else through this. It was bad enough for everyone that I was facing this," she said.

The call they had been waiting for came at 10.40pm on a Monday night last August and the transplant co-ordinator broke the news that they had a potential match.

A liver transplant has given Margaret Allan a second chance at life, to the delight of husband Mike, daughter Wendy Cant and granddaughters Amber-Louise and Stephanie (right). NS

Margaret said: "I told Mike I had to go to Edinburgh. He asked me when and I said 'now'. An ambulance was sent to pick me up from the house and I was taken to RAF Kinloss where a small aeroplane from the St John's Air Ambulance flew my husband and I down to Edinburgh.

"The adrenaline was working but at the back of my mind I was still aware that the transplant might not go ahead.

"I had to go through more tests to make sure I had no infections. I was in bed by 3am and was taken down to surgery at 8am."

The transplant operation was a success and Margaret began the slow recovery process.

Mike was able to spend the first week at her hospital bedside before having to return to work and as it was so far from home, relatives were not able to visit as often as they wanted. Staff at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary took Margaret under their wing, ensuring she had everything she needed and even taking her washing home.

"I have been getting steadily better and it has given me a new lease of life. A transplant is never a 100% cure and my new liver is not working at 100% as there may be a small blockage, but the difference it has made to my life is amazing.

"I can now run up the stairs at home whereas before it was a struggle even to walk up them," said Margaret, who used to work at the Asda store in Elgin.

"People cannot get over the change in me."

No details of where the organ came from have been revealed to Margaret but after a year she will be invited to write a letter to the donor's family.

It will be impossible to express her feelings, she admits, but hopes to express her gratitude to the other family.

Liver charities rarely receive much publicity or fundraising support. This, Margaret believes, is largely because people associate liver failure with alcohol abuse.

Since her operation, many members of her family have signed up to become organ donors.

f.mcpherson@northern-scot.co.uk

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