Video: Notts TV’s Kate Chaplain speaks to the siblings and the staff
A Nottingham man who donated a kidney to his sister to save her life have both met the staff at City Hospital today (Thursday September 8) who made the transplant possible.
As part of Organ Donation Week, Andrew Jackson and Sarah May went back to the hospital where the life saving operation took place.
Sarah was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2010 and was told that she needed to find a donor or else she would die.
My kidneys had failed but I didn’t know
She said: “It was a massive shock, just everything that happened to me that year just came out of the blue.
“I had curtovirus and my kidneys had failed but at this point, I actually didn’t know that.
“I went to the doctors for a routine check up and they took my blood pressure which was 220 over 110 so they gave me tablets and said they’d monitor me.”
However the tablets did not work and after more visits to the doctors, Sarah was told the news.
“Over that summer, it didn’t go down, I had blood tests and was told that both of my kidneys failed.
“If I didn’t get a kidney, I was told I would die.
“The minute I found out that I could get a kidney was the happiest moment of my life because I have been given that chance to live.”
We were so emotional to see her life change
Sarah’s brother, Andrew, had the perfect match and so he donated his kidney to save her life.
He said: “It kicked in straight away, so that was brilliant.
“We were in hospital together and it was a bit unusual going to hospital with your sister, we even really had a ball in hospital!
“The last day when we came out, she had a bacon sandwich and a cup of coffee which she obviously couldn’t eat before but could again.
“We were so emotional to see her life change, literally just like that, in a flash.”
Sarah and Andrew now raise funds for charity Kidneys for Life and City Hospital transplant co-ordinator Ann Theakston who thinks the money will play a vital part in research.
She said: “Research into kidney diseases and transplantation is vital in the work that we do within our department and nationally.
“It will really help us understand how we might be able to prevent kidney disease and how we can minimise the effects of that disease in the long term.”