Still going strong 42 years after Bristol's first kidney transplant

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Still going strong 42 years after Bristol's first kidney transplant

Saturday, October 30, 2010, 07:00

A WOMAN who became Bristol's first kidney transplant patient 42 years ago is thanking the NHS for transforming her life.

After the operation on October 31, 1968, doctors at Southmead Hospital told the then 25-year-old Anne Whiteman that the kidney would only last 10 years.

But Mrs Whiteman, of Shirehampton, is now 67 and still has the same kidney.

And she and her husband Arthur, 73, want to thank the NHS for the "wonderful quality of life" she experienced after the transplant.


Mrs Whiteman, a retired auxiliary nurse who worked at the BRI, started experiencing the first symptoms of kidney problems in her late teens.

"I felt tired all the time and had no energy to do anything," she said.

Mr and Mrs Whiteman met in a Bristol coffee bar in 1960 and the pair married in 1963.

At 22, Mrs Whiteman became pregnant with their daughter and put her tiredness down to the pregnancy.

But three years later, Mrs Whiteman was rushed to hospital with renal failure.

Doctors told her that her kidneys had shrunk to the size of walnuts and needed to be removed. After both kidneys were taken out Mrs Whiteman was put on dialysis. This meant Mrs Whiteman would have to visit Ham Green Hospital in Pill three times a week to sit with a needle in her ankle for up to 14 hours.

The needle would draw out all the toxins in her body, which previously would have been a job for her kidneys. During this time Mrs Whiteman had to follow a strict diet and her weight dropped to six-and-a-half stone.

"I hated being hooked up to a machine – it wasn't like kidney dialysis machines you see now, this was the size of a washing machine and made a great noise," she said.

"When I came off the machine I'd feel OK for a couple of hours but then I'd feel awful again until I went back on the machine.

"I just felt ill all the time and couldn't face the thought of going through this for the rest of my life."

In the meantime, renal surgeon Humphrey White had been drafted into Bristol from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with the intention of starting a transplant programme in the South West.

"There were two other women who were on dialysis at Ham Green but when they were offered transplants they refused because they didn't want to be guinea pigs," said Mrs Whiteman.

"About nine months after I'd started dialysis an 18-year-old boy died in motorbike accident and his kidney happened to be a perfect match.

"Mr White asked me if I wanted to be the first person to undergo a kidney transplant and to Arthur's shock I said yes.

"I was fed up of feeling ill all the time and couldn't face life on the dialysis machine."

The operation, on Hallowe'en in 1968, took four hours.

Mrs Whiteman became the first person at Southmead Hospital and the first person in Bristol to have a kidney transplant. It was a nail-biting wait for Mr Whiteman.

"I was faced with the possibility of having to bring up our three-year-old daughter Tracey on my own," he said.

But when Mrs Whiteman had recovered from the operation, her health greatly improved.

"I had so much energy and felt absolutely wonderful," she said.

"All the tiredness had gone and I was able to enjoy life with Arthur and our daughter.

"He wasn't meant to, but one doctor we saw told us the kidney would only last 10 years.

"I burst into tears at the thought of not being able to see Tracey grow up but I just felt lucky to feel so healthy.

"I went back to work for the next 20 years and had a brilliant quality of life."

In October 1993, on the 25th anniversary of Mrs Whiteman's kidney transplant, her original surgeon, Mr White, the nurse who looked after her, Sister Booth, and Dr Parker, who was in charge of dialysis, surprised Mrs Whiteman with a visit to the couple's home.

They brought her a kidney-shaped cake to celebrate the milestone.

Now, more than 40 years since the operation, Mrs Whiteman says she is eternally grateful that she took a chance and had the transplant.

"I've got a daughter and two wonderful grandchildren, who I've seen grow up," she said.

"At the time of my operation and every time I've been back for check-ups the doctors and nurses have always been so kind and helpful.

"You hear people saying bad things about the NHS but the way we have been treated has been exceptional.

"I would encourage anyone who is worried about having a transplant to have one – it has improved the quality of my life so much."

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/going-strong-42-years-Bristol-s-kidney-transplant/article-2818403-detail/article.html