New kidney has lasted me 40 years

[okarol]

New kidney has lasted me 40 years

By Victoria Murphy 30/08/2010

TRANSPLANT

A woman is celebrating the 40th anniversary of her kidney transplant.

Myra Sankey, 71, is believed to be the owner of Britain's oldest transplant kidney, having received it in July 1970.

She was one of the first people to have the pioneering surgery.

The organ given to Mrs Sankey, from Chelmsford, Essex, was expected to last only 10 years.

She said yesterday: "I have been very lucky. I do things in moderation - I don't smoke but I do like the occasional sherry."

Mrs Sankey, a retired nurse, suffered total kidney failure in 1969 but the first transplant failed and she had to go on dialysis, facing a nail-biting wait for another suitable organ.

She said: "In those days, you had no mobile phones or internet and if you went out you had to phone the hospital every two hours to see if a donor was available."

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/30/new-kidney-has-lasted-me-40-years-115875-22523671/#ixzz0yGDMwXhB