Jay’s Yorkshire Workshop viewers were left in tears after a man revealed how he fell in love with a complete stranger who donated half of his liver to save his life.
Last night’s episode of the BBC Two show focused on the love story of Connor Neville, 25, and Jack Mitchell, who met when Connor, who was dying from an incurable liver disease, issued a desperate plea on social media in a last ditch attempt to find a live donor.
With his family and friends all being told they were not a match, Jack, who was a complete stranger, offered to donate half of his liver to save Connor’s life. Following emergency transplant surgery, the pair remained friends before falling in love and becoming a couple.
And when Connor visited the workshop to thank his partner for saving his life, viewers were left in tears by the ‘incredible story.’
‘Jack and Connor made my eyes very watery tonight,’ wrote one, while a second penned: ‘I’m not crying, you’re crying.’
Last night’s episode of BBC Two’s Jay’s Yorkshire Workshop focused on the love story of Connor Neville, 25, and Jack Mitchell, who met when Connor, who was dying from an incurable liver disease, issued a desperate plea on social media in a last ditch attempt to find a live donor. Pictured, together
Connor (right) explained how he fell in love with Jack (left), who was a complete stranger who donated half of his liver to save his life
Following emergency transplant surgery, the pair (pictured together, with Jay and the sideboard) remained friends before falling in love and becoming a couple
‘Jack…at the time I didn’t know who he was,’ explained Connor. ‘In October 2018 he donated half of his liver to me. I had an autoimmune liver disease. They basically said to me there’s no treatment for it or no cure or anything. You might need a liver transplant at some point in the future.’
He continued: ‘It was early December 2018. I started to deteriorate quite badly, so I lost loads of weight and lost all my hair. I was really completely jaundice. I didn’t look like the same person at all.’
‘They wanted to try and find a donor quite quickly. I had family and friends getting tested to see if they could be a donor for me, but we didn’t have any luck with that.’
Connor went on to explain how when you’re on the waiting list you can be waiting for over a year, which is why they went down the live donor route.
Connor’s younger sister Alex then put a social media plea out and Jack (right) got in contact
Connor (pictured, right and Jack, left) explained how the operation was about a year and a half ago now and he couldn’t have asked for a better recovery
‘You can donate half of your liver and it will regenerate back to full size,’ he explained.
Connor’s younger sister Alex then put a social media plea out and Jack got in contact.
‘We agreed to meet him in person and he decided to go through with it even though he didn’t know who I was,’ said Connor. ‘The operation was about a year and a half ago now and I couldn’t have asked for a better recovery.’
‘We stayed really good friends after the operation and we’re actually in a relationship now – since June last year we’ve been seeing each other. Without him, I don’t think I’d be stood here today.’
When Connor visited the workshop to thank his partner for saving his life, viewers were left in tears by the ‘incredible story’ (pictured)
Furniture restorer and The Repair Shop star Jay Blades responded: ‘Oh come on! That’s like a fairytale.’
Connor explained how the couple were eventually planning on moving in together and hoped the team would create something for their future home – an impressive wooden sideboard.
When he visited the workshop, Jack explained why he went ahead with his standout act of kindness.
‘I just thought, “gosh if I can do something to help, I really will try.” I don’t think I realised how big it was or how ill Connor was.’
Jack (pictured) explained how he didn’t realise how big a deal it was to donate half of his liver, or how ill Connor was
And it wasn’t long before viewers who tuned in were quick to take to the comments section to say they’d been reduced to tears.
‘Lovely people making wooden furniture for amazing people. Only criticism, should include a warning at the start “this show will cause uncontrollable sobbing,” wrote one.
A second penned: ‘Just watched the first episode of #jaysyorkshireworkshop and in yet another fab programme that makes me cry buckets to go along with #therepairshop – amazing craftspeople sharing their talents to make special gifts for special people! It’s like a comforting hug.’