PLANS to change the law on organ donation have been hailed as a giant step forward by a mum whose son’s life was saved after he was given someone else’s heart.

Linda McCay, from Lochwinnoch, was left devastated in 2003 when her 15-year-old son Marc was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and given just a one per cent chance of survival.

Hundreds of miles away, in the Midlands, a 16-year-old stranger, Martin Burton, had suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage.

The decision by Martin’s parents, Sue and Nigel, to donate his organs gave Marc the gift of life.

Linda would be able to spend another 13 precious years with her boy - watching him become a proud uncle to seven nieces and nephews - before he succumbed to further heart problems and kidney failure in September last year.

His amazing story was told in a BBC TV documentary and a book by Cole Moreton, called The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away.

And Linda believes stories such as Marc’s helped to convince the Scottish Government to take action to dramatically increase the number of organ donors.

Holyrood chiefs are to bring forward legislation to provide an opt-out system that would allow parts of an adult’s body to be used in transplants in the absence of express permission.

Linda told the Gazette: “We are absolutely ecstatic about the plans to change the law.

“I feel that Marc’s story has made a difference as it generated a lot of publicity.

“I remember Marc saying that, if his story could save just one life, he would be happy.”

Linda will always be grateful to Nigel and Sue for taking the difficult decision to donate their son’s organs.

She added: “It is unusual for families of donors to keep in touch with the person who received their organ but Sue and I became lifelong friends.

“Sue was there for me when Marc died 13 years after being given Martin’s heart.

“Marc was suffering from kidney failure and other problems when he died, so I’m not sure what this change in the law would have meant for him.

“Those extra years we got with Marc were a bonus, though. We’re lucky that we got the extra time with him.”

Linda recalls spending time at a hospital in Newcastle when Marc was undergoing his lifesaving transplant and being horrified to learn that other children were dying as they were unable to get organs.

She said: “I asked the staff ‘why is this happening - why won’t people donate their organs, as they will only be burned or buried when they’re gone?’

“It’s sacrilege to bury organs when they could get used to save someone - like Martin’s did for Marc.”

At present, anyone who wants to donate their organs after death has to ‘opt in’ to the system through the donor card scheme.

Around 45 per cent of the Scottish population are currently on the register.

A soft opt-out system has been in place in Wales since 2015.

Under this system, the wishes of families and next of kin continue to be respected, so removal of organs would not go ahead without their support.

Medics have welcomed the plans, with BMA Scotland chairman Dr Peter Bennie saying the field of organ transplantation had “not yet reached its full life-saving and life-transforming potential.”

Sales of The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away have raised £2,500 since the book was launched in April, with funds being split between the Donor Family Network and the Golden Jubilee Hospital, in Clydebank, where Marc regularly received treatment.

It can be bought from the Harper Collins Publishers website and is currently Book of the Month at Johnstone Library.