I got a new kidney 30 years ago and life’s great!Dec 31 2007 by Helen Hunt, Liverpool Echo
A LIVERPOOL woman is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her kidney transplant.
Kirkdale mother Carol Murphy was once given only weeks to live.
Only a donor could save her, and her older sister Joan proved a perfect match.
Experts expected the kidney to last around five years.
But it is still going strong and up there with Britain’s longest surviving kidneys.
Today she thanked her sister for giving her a life-time free from gruelling dialysis, and told how, despite the risks, she went on to have the family she feared she would never have.
Carol, 51, said: “They gave the kidney five years when I had the operation. I never thought it would last 30 years.
“But I’ve always remained positive. I didn’t want to look at any negatives.
“I always say two things to people, laughter is the best medicine and stay positive.
“I’m still close to my sister now. We’re like chalk and cheese. I’ll never forget what she did for me. It really was the gift of life.”
Carol was diagnosed as having kidney problems at the age of 11 while in hospital having her tonsils out.
She was referred to Walton hospital and then on to Alder Hey children’s hospital in West Derby where medics predicted complete kidney failure.
She was on tablets for 10 years and eventually forced to go on dialysis at the age of 21.
Carol had the transplant operation at the Royal Liverpool hospital on December 5, 1977.
It was carried out by Prof Robert Sells, among the pioneers of transplant surgery.
She said she was eternally grateful to Prof Sells, who retired after helping hundreds of patients.
She also counts herself lucky to have a child, Elizabeth, 23, something once considered a risk for kidney patients.
She also has two other daughters Pamela, 26, and Claire, 22, from her husband’s previous marriage.
Carol said: “I feel like a million pounds. I never thought I would get married. I never thought we’d have three lovely daughters together.
“And Elizabeth, it was one I never thought I would have.
“When I went to the GP, he was booking me in for a termination and I really didn’t want to do it.
“How can you take away life, when you’ve been given a life?
“I went to see Prof Sells. He asked me what the problem was and I was really embarrassed. I felt as though I’d done something wrong.
“I told him I was pregnant. It wasn’t planned. I told him and he said that I was making medical history.”
Carol’s pregnancy was closely monitored and Elizabeth was delivered successfully. The relationship with her father did not work out but Carol later met her husband Mike, who was widowed, doing the school run and they have been together ever since.
The couple married in October 2007 in Gretna Green after Mike popped the question on Carol’s 50th birthday.
Transplant surgeon consultant Ali Bakran, who works at the new Royal hospital, today congratulated Carol and said it was “pretty unusual” for a transplanted kidney to reach 30.
He said: “She is certainly one of the privileged few.
“The important thing to say is how successful transplanted kidneys can be, and of course without transplantation many patients wouldn’t be alive.
“This is good news and it also highlights how important live donors are.”
The longest surviving transplanted kidney is almost 40 years.
Sign up to the Organ Donor Register by calling 0845 60 60 400 or visit
www.uktransplant.org.ukhelenhunt@liverpoolecho.co.uk
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/12/31/i-got-a-new-kidney-30-years-ago-and-life-s-great-100252-20298941/
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