An Angus man has been given a future through his aunt’s gift of a kidney in the family’s second living organ donation within a decade.
Ahead of World Kidney Day, Paul Gardiner from Friockheim, near Arbroath has backed a drive to raise awareness of living donation after his Fife aunt and godmother put herself forward for the life-saving transplant last year.
Remarkably, it is the family’s second living donor gesture after Paul’s mum did the same thing for her husband a decade ago.
A kidney from a living donor offers the best outcome for patients living with organ failure or requiring transplant and more than 800 have been given in the last 10 years.
Paul was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) as a child, a condition he and his brother, Frazer inherited from their father.
In his early thirties, tests showed Paul’s kidney function was declining.
When it reached 20% his aunt, Caroline Bowman, from Crossgates, had no hesitation in putting herself forward to be considered as a living donor – after her sister and Paul’s mum Susan, same thing for husband Trevor in 2010.
Caroline, 65, said: “I’ve seen at first-hand the difference their dad’s transplant made and how, by becoming his kidney donor, my sister was able to give him back his health.
“When Paul’s kidneys started to fail badly, I knew it was time to find out if I could be his donor so he could have a life-changing transplant too.
“Paul was only in his early thirties when his renal function started dropping dramatically – much younger than when that affected his dad – so it looked inevitable that his health was soon going to decline even more seriously and he’d soon need to be put on dialysis.
“I’d do it all again in an instant and I’d certainly encourage anyone in a similar situation to find out about living organ donation. Sharing the gift of life could be the most important thing you ever do.”
Paul, 36, is continuing his recovery from November’s transplant and looking ahead to life with fiancée Rachel.
“It’s still early days but the transplant has already made a huge difference,” hE SAID.
“Within a matter of weeks my kidney function had improved dramatically, going up from just 14% to over 50%, and it should carry on getting better.
“That will let me become much more active again and be able to do so many things I couldn’t do, from normal everyday activities to sports I had to give up, like skiing.”
Living Donation Scotland lead nurse Jen Lumsdaine said: “Living donation is an exceptional gift, and will continue to be a vital part of continuing to improve transplant numbers when opt-out legislation is introduced, so more lives can be saved and transformed.”
