Stepson donates a kidney to save his stepfather

[okarol]

Stepson donates a kidney to save his stepfather

Oct 23 2008 South Wales Echo

IF you ask Ian Robst why he offered to donate a kidney to his stepdad David Britton, he modestly says that he wanted to save a life.

The gentle giant and dad-of-two said: “It’s nice to save a life in this world. You see so much on the news and in the papers and it’s all war and famine and you wonder if there’s anything else. When you look at the bigger picture if I can help someone, then it’s better than taking a life.”

Ian, 38, who lives in Ely, Cardiff, with wife Natalie, first offered step-dad David his kidney before he started dialysis more than a year ago.

David, 59, who also lives in Ely, had suffered from a rare form of kidney disease for 14 years before his organs failed. He was put on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in August last year, which involved four sessions a day.

“I offered him the kidney because I wanted to get the ball rolling,” said Ian, who admitted he knew nothing about live donation before David went on dialysis.

“There were three parties involved – David, myself and the hospital. By getting it up and running it meant, first and foremost, that David would get his health and his life back and the side-effects [of kidney failure] would go away, which they have. Not only does David get better through live donation, but dialysis costs the NHS about £25,000 a year, double the cost of the transplant, so the health service saves money.

“But it also frees up dialysis for someone else who needs it – the way I saw it, I wasn’t just helping someone in the family but someone else who may need that treatment.”

David, a former carpenter, said: “By the time I went on dialysis I was tired all the time, I couldn’t walk very far and everything seemed to be a struggle. I started dialysis on a Monday and within two days I was feeling 100% better than before, because it gets rid of all the rubbish in your body. Dialysis wasn’t too bad but it was restricting.”

He said that he felt “reluctant” when Ian first offered to donate a kidney, because his stepson has a wife and family. “I didn’t want to put him through it, but he insisted,” he said.

And Ian’s mum – David’s wife – Dorothy said: “We wanted to give him more time to consider as he has a wife and two children. When Dave was put on dialysis we received a call from Ian insisting that we should get the ball rolling.

“We soon learned that Ian didn’t have to be an exact tissue match as long as their bloods were compatible – this proved to be the case.”

David added: “When I went on dialysis he said again that he really wanted to do it. We got in touch with the transplant co-ordinator and the next thing I knew we had all the tests and they were bringing us in for surgery.”

Ian’s kidney was transplanted into David on September 16 at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff. Both have praised the care they received from the hospital team and the transplant co-ordinators. The pair were discharged within five days of the operation and are now recuperating at home.

Ian said: “I told my mum that you can tell when a man isn’t right, it’s when he doesn’t eat and now David’s asking for extra sandwiches.

“He is doing really, really well – we were told that the kidney was working so well that everything is returning to normal.”

David said: “It’s a great thing to do and I can’t thank him enough – it’s hard to put it into words. He has given me a new lease of life and if everything goes well, it could last indefinitely.”

And Dorothy added: “We will never be able to thank Ian enough for what he has done.

“He has remained so brave and positive from the start – as a mother I am so proud of him.”

To register as an organ donor contact the NHS Organ Donor Register on 0845 60 60 400.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health-news/2008/10/23/stepson-donates-a-kidney-to-save-his-stepfather-91466-22101645/