“WITHOUT the organ donor there is no story, no hope, no transplant. But when there is an organ donor, life springs from death, sorrow turns to hope and a terrible loss becomes a gift.”

The tattoo boldly positioned on Jamie Hauxwell’s arm is a poignant reminder of his own story and that of the young Bristol boy who saved his life more than 23 years ago.

In 1992, 11-year-old Daniel John Fowler lost his life in a road accident – a horrific tragedy mitigated only by the brave actions of his family.

The Fowlers made the heart-rending choice to donate their son’s organs and in doing so, directly saved the life of Stockton teenager Jamie Hauxwell, who received the child’s liver.

Now 37, Mr Hauxwell, recently marked the 23rd anniversary of his transplant by inking a permanent reminder onto his arm and embarking upon a search to find and thank Daniel Fowler’s family for their selfless gift.

As a child, Mr Hauxwell suffered from carolis syndrome, a life-threatening condition affecting the bile ducts.

He received little Daniel’s liver in February 1992 after losing a large part of his childhood to a blur of hospital visits, illness and the threat of death.

The transplant was a gift, he says, that gave him back his life and made him the man he is today.

He is now desperate to thank the family that saved him and hopes his story will give hope to other families and those facing transplants.

Data protection laws prevent authorities from giving Mr Hauxwell the donor family’s contact details but he hopes his message of gratitude will reach them via appeals in The Northern Echo and in the Bristol press.

He said: “The transplant means everything to me, without it I would not have had a normal life.

“Within a couple of weeks after having it I went back to being a normal kid.

“I’ve been lucky, I went on to work full time, live a full life with a wife and child and that’s all down to the donor family.

“I always think of them and since I had my own child, I realise more what they must have gone through.

“I don’t want to upset anybody after all these years but I can never thank them enough – I’ve had 23 years as a healthy man because of what they did.”

Mr Hauxwell is also backing calls for an ‘opt-out’ donor register rather than an ‘opt-in’ system.

Encouraging others to sign up to the donor register, he said: “Some people see it as cutting up their loved one but it’s not.

“I’m a prime example of what it can do, I’ve had 23 years of extra life because someone agreed to organ donation – it’s saving lives.”