Brian Keeley decided to marry his wife in hospital after doctors told him he was living on borrowed time.
The artist had collapsed while on holiday in 2013 with a major blockage in his heart, and was so ill he was put into a medically-induced coma.
He spent 110 days in intensive care, with 80 of those days on respiratory support.
When doctors told him they were preparing to provide him with end-of-life care, the former art teacher married his wife Bibo in his hospital bed.
But after the wedding, Mr Keeley’s condition started to improve and he was put on the heart transplant list.
Within two weeks, a donor was found, and he underwent lifesaving surgery to get a new heart.
Now the 58-year-old and his wife are living their lives to the fullest, and he is currently doing PhD at Aberdeen University in Film and Visual Culture as a mature student.
Ahead of this year’s Organ Donation Week he has urged others to sign up to the organ donor register.
He said: “Even when you’re on the transplant list, you don’t know you’re going to get one until a couple of hours beforehand, so for everyone involved it’s a really stressful time.
“You’re clinging on, not knowing what’s going to happen, because if there’s any infections or difficulties, you could be off the list.
“And you don’t know if you’ll survive the transplant, or how long you’ll live afterwards, so the whole situation is such that you have to throw double-sixes all the way to get through it.
“I was in intensive care the whole time, and I was woken up very early one morning and was told there’s a heart for me.
“I was pretty scared. I had been in hospital for so long that I had grown to accept that this was a huge risk, but the only option.
“When you get taken away to the theatre, you quickly have to say goodbye to everyone and hope you come out the other end.
“Fortunately I did, you just have to accept the risks and hope for the best.”
He added: “It’s really important that people are aware of what it means to be an organ donor on the register.
“Not only do you need to make your wishes known to the organ donation people, you need to tell all of your family and loved ones as well.”
Organ Donation Week runs from September 7 to September 13.
In March, the system in Scotland will change with a “opt out” method being enforced.
To find out more or to register, people can visit www.organdonationscotland.org
