Man unwittingly receives organ donation from dead neighbour in cruel t

A father-of-two Richard Smith discovered the stranger who saved his life by donating his liver after dying in a car crash was a student who lived around the corner. Richard, 48, learnt of

the remarkable coincidence three years after receiving the life-saving organ. Donors can come from anywhere in the world and are not chosen according to geography, but blood type,

physiological suitability and availability. Speaking about the organ donation, back in 1993, Richard - who lives in Shropshire - said: "It's amazing the man who ultimately saved me

was – by complete coincidence – somebody who used to live about 200m away from me. "I've probably passed him in the street or on the bus." He added: "I told one of my

friends about the coincidence and she realised she knew the family. Her parents and been comforting my donor's parents after his death." Richard was given 48 hours to find a donor

after suffering sudden and acute liver failure back in February 1993. The chartered surveyor had been suffering with a cold over Christmas 1992 -but his symptoms escalated and he began to

experience nausea and go jaundiced. Seeking medical help, the doctor sent Richard home presuming it was just a cold. He said: "The doctor just told me I'd probably get better on my

own and to come back in six weeks if I didn't improve." But, by February 5 1993, he had become gravely ill. Mr Smith remembers phoning his father and managing to choke out:

"Dad, I'm in trouble here," before collapsing. Frantic, his father raced round to Mr Smith's home, forced the door down and drove him to A&E. By the time Mr Smith

arrived at hospital, he was in a coma and medics broke the news to his devastated family that, unless a donor was found in the next 48 hours, he would not survive. Initially, he was told

very little about the man who'd saved him, learning only that he was in his twenties and had passed just hours earlier. The news comes after this shocking misdiagnosis hit headlines

last week.  Mr Smith and his donor's family exchanged messages for years, finally meeting in person in May 2011. Telling of the encounter, Mr Smith said: "It was indescribable.

It's not a relationship that has any precedence so there are no rules for it. "I felt extraordinarily proud of my donor and privileged to be involved with the people who'd

made such a selfless decision all those years ago. "I don't feel a terrible duty to be anything more than an ordinary bloke, but I wanted to demonstrate to them that I was living a

decent life and bringing my kids up right."