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Gillian Norris’ son died in a road accident when he was just 14.

Twenty-three years on, Gillian put her head to a stranger’s chest and listened to his heartbeat.

It was an emotional moment when she came face to face with transplant patient Daniel Titley, 35.

Daniel was just 11 when he received Stephen’s heart.

Daniel, now a data processor for Coleg Ceredigion, Aberystwyth, was born with serious heart defects.

He met Gillian, from Yorkshire, after deciding to find out the name of his donor.

He said: “Today, the mother of my donor put her head to my chest to hear her son’s heart beating.

“She got a bit emotional. She gave me a hug to listen to her son’s heart.

“That must have been very weird for her. Meeting Gillian brought it home that someone had to suffer for me to survive.

“I already knew that, but meeting her really brought it home.”

In 1992, Daniel was desperately ill. Doctors told him they could no longer operate on his heart, which had been defective from birth, and that he would need a new one.

Months later, Stephen’s death in Yorkshire led to the transplant that saved Daniel’s life.

Having lived for 23 years with his new heart, Daniel felt the time was right to find out more about his donor.

“I have now lived twice as long with my new heart as I lived with my old heart,” he said.

Daniel looked up death records and obituaries to try to find the name of his donor.

He found newspaper articles and documents relating to Stephen’s death.

Stephen was carrying a donor card and a number of his organs, including his heart, went to help others.

The emotional meeting will be broadcast on television.

Real Stories with Ranvir Singh will be on Thursday, 23 July at 7.30pm.