The 60-year-old father-of-two is alive and enjoying a "new life" because a donor heart was found within 10 days of him being admitted to hospital, critically ill with heart failure.
He remembers the other patients in his ward who died, waiting.
Heart transplant surgeons have warned of "critical" shortages of donor hearts across the UK.
Figures published in July show that, across the UK, the number of heart transplants is down 13% compared with last year, and the number of patients on the waiting list has increased by 12%.
Experts believe the need for donors will only increase in the future because current levels of obesity will lead to an increase in conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure which can lead to heart failure. Heart disease remains one of the biggest killers in the West of Scotland.
Glasgow-born Sandy is fully supportive of our campaign to persuade the Scottish Government to switch to a "soft" opt-out system of organ donation.
This would mean that the default position is that everyone is a donor but people could remove themselves from the register and families would still be consulted.
The British Heart Foundation believes it is the best way to address the shortage of donors and drive up the number of transplants.
Sandy said: "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the donor. I was just in the right place at the right time.
"There is no telling when the next organ could have been available.
"I remember some of the patients in the ward who didn't make it. It sounds like a cliche but it is a gift of life."
Sandy began feeling unwell two years ago at the age of 58. He noticed he was lacking in energy for his usual round of golf. Eventually he could barely climb a flight of stairs.
His condition worsened and he called NHS 24 for advice. Within an hour he was in hospital undergoing tests which showed he had cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle where the heart does not have enough oxygen to pump blood around the body.
He was put on a heart pump to keep him alive and placed on the "urgent" list for a heart transplant at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.
He said: "It came out of the blue. I didn't have a history of heart problems, no family incidence and had been fit and well up to about the age of 58.
"When someone tells you that you need a heart transplant, you think 'what on earth'.
"I was very, very fortunate that I only had to wait 10 days. I remember the nurse coming to tell me that they had found a match.
"The difference is like night and day. It's like being a new man.
"I can't thank the staff at the Golden Jubilee enough."
Sandy, who was brought up in the Scotstounhill area of Glasgow but now lives in Falkirk, is now back working as a chartered accountant and enjoying life with his wife of 33 years, Brenda, and daughters Gillian, 30, an oncology nurse and Evelyn, 27, a solicitor.
He now spends his spare time raising awareness about organ donation and counselling other patients who are waiting for heart transplants and has backed our campaign for a presumed consent system of organ donation.
He said: "It's something I feel very strongly about.
IT seems crazy. We have all this new skill and expertise but they can't utilise it properly.
"If someone is strongly opposed they have the opportunity to opt out.
"I don't want to be political but I'm not sure it's enough of a vote earner for the Government."
He added: "I've very, very grateful to the donor. The family should feel so proud."
Ben McKendrick, British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland's senior policy and public affairs manager, said: "At the moment, a heart transplant is the only effective treatment available for end stage heart failure patients but, worryingly, the rate of heart donations has slumped over the past two decades.
"We would like to see opt-out legislation across the whole of the UK, supported by proper infrastructure and training for doctors."
