By Charlene Kelly

A YOUNG Fife mother who has battled cancer and renal failure is overjoyed after her devoted dad offered his kidney to save her life.

Leslie man George (46), who works as a police custody officer at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, was devastated when he found out his 22-year-old daughter Cheryl’s kidneys were failing four years ago.

Cheryl, who is married to Gareth (26) and lives in Glenrothes, was pregnant at the time with her daughter Megan and had to have an emergency caesarean at 27 weeks.

Fortunately, Megan survived, despite weighing a tiny 1lb 8 oz. While Cheryl recovered from the birth, doctors discovered she had Lupus, an incurable disease of the immune system which can cause significant kidney damage. She remained in hospital for the next three months and was subsequently put on dialysis while her name was added to the kidney transplant list.

It was while undergoing tests a year later that Cheryl was dealt a second blow: she was suffering from cervical cancer.

“It was in the very early stages so you could say I was lucky but if I hadn’t been on the transplant list they would never have found it and who knows where I’d be then,” she said.

Cheryl was taken off the list and booked in for a hysterectomy. “They removed everything which meant I didn’t need to have any radiotherapy or chemotherapy,” the brave mum said.

Cheryl is back on the transplant list following an anxious two-year wait and members of her family, including her mum and dad, put themselves forward to be tested as donors.

“It was my dad who was tested first and initial blood tests have shown he’s a 99% match,” she said.

“To say he was over the moon would be a major understatement and he received even more good news later that day when he found out my younger sister, Lynn, was pregnant.”

George said, “It’s a dad’s duty to make sure his child is all right. There are still a lot of thorough tests to be carried out, however, to ensure compatibility of the antibodies. We are both really pleased but we have been told to not get too carried away because there are risks involved and right up to the day of the operation they can turn round and say the transplant can’t go ahead so we’ll just have to see what happens and take one day at a time.”

Cheryl said, “It means so much to me that my dad is willing to give up his kidney for me and I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to thank other members of my family for their help and support.”