Katie Goodall/The Harefield Gazette/Sunday 9th September 2007.
Friends
LIVE life and then give life. That's the motto of two friends who have both received double lung transplants from Harefield Hospital.
On Sunday, September 9, just months after their life saving operation they walked three miles to raise money for Harefield Hospital's MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Scanner appeal to say thanks to the hospital that helped them live their lives to the full again.
Emily Thackray,23, and Lisa Muscutt,34, from Epsom, Surrey have Cystic Fibrosis and met through Lisa's neighbour, who went to school with Emily. Emily had her transplant in January 2007 and Lisa in April after being transferred from the Royal Brompton Hospital.
The girls exchanged emails and have been friends ever since.
Harefield Hospital aims to raise £1.5 million for the MRI scanner which produces high quality two and three dimensional moving images of the heart and lungs.
The girls proudly wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo Live Life and Then Give Life to encourage more people to become organ donors because 400 people in the UK die each year waiting for a transplant.
Dr Tarun Mittal, 42, Consultant Radiologist completed one mile, and stresses the importance of the MRI scanner. He said: "Patients to Harefield come with end stage heart failure, and the MRI scanner is very useful to determine the cause of the failing heart muscle."
Lisa and Emily would like to thank the staff at The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals for the care they received. Both girls are grateful to the donor, and their family. They would like to say thank you for the transplant, and now they can now life their life to the full.
The fun run finished with Mike Parry from TalkSport Radio and Clare Tomlinson from Sky Sports presenting an auction. Mr Parry, 49, has a personal reason to support the hospital.
He said: "I was here in the summer of 2004. I had a dilated cardiomyopathy. I was admitted under the care of Dr Nicholas Banner and after he examined me he put me on the heart transplant list."
However after a combination of drugs and a special diet Mr Parry was well enough to return to work within a year. 
Ends
Pictures in order: (Top) Lisa Muscutt, Emily Thackray (Centre Left) with friend, and the bottom picture inset is Lisa (right) and Emily at the Harefield Fun Run.
For more information about Emily and her campaign visit her website: http://www.livelifethengivelife.co.uk/. To register to become a donor visit http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ or ring 0845 60 60 400 24 hours a day. Information about the MRI scanner appeal can be found on http://www.rbht.nhs.uk/about/fundraising/events/fun-run on the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS website.
