Anna is to marry Chris on first anniversary of donating kidney

Anna is to marry her fiancé Chris on the first anniversary of donating one of her Organs to him

Jun 21 2007

by Neil Millard
icCroydon

A SELFLESS girlfriend is to marry her fiancé a year to the day after she gave him one of her kidneys.

Anna Pearce watched as Chris Howard's condition worsened as his kidney dis-ease gradually took over his body.

So when he made the decision to try to find a donor before his kidneys failed all together there was one person standing by to lend a hand - and a vital organ.

Anna, 24, said: "I never think I have kept him alive. He could have stayed on dialysis. I did it for me just as much as I did it for him.

"I did it for us and our future.It was a way out."

Chris could have waited for another donor and found one years later - but Anna did not see the point in waiting because the dialysis was proving such a hindrance.

Chris,48, said: "I could have waited and got one from the list and been five years older, but you might as well have it now and have the time now.

"The bond, if you like - although we already had it - was confirmed in July last year and it's being confirmed again this year.It's the biggest significant date we've got."

Chris was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1996.

The condition gradually worsened and in January 2005 he had to start dialysis, 10 years earlier than anticipated.

He applied to go on the transplant waiting list, but, having already had a heart attack and a triple heart bypass, doctors had to ensure he could withstand the procedure.

Anna instantly offered him one of her kidneys.

Chris, a former telephone engineer, said: "It was her idea. I wouldn't suggest it. How would I ask? You ask to borrow a car,not a kidney.

"She was always adamant and she always knew that she would offer and she always knew that it would work.

"I do feel indebted. It's the utmost gift. I can't make up for it, I can't repay it.

"Initially I didn't want her to do it. I would rather have got one from the list, but they don't come up that often.

"I think in this age of health and safety, people don't have as many accidents and the organs aren't as available as they used to be."

The couple, who have lived together for six years, will marry on July 12 at Leatherhead Register Office before jetting off to Thailand on their honeymoon.

Anna said: "A year to the day just seemed very appropriate.We had always said we would get married, but while he was on dialysis he felt I was going to be tied to him and that if at any stage it got too much I could leave."

But she had no intention of leaving Chris - and once he had recovered they decided the first anniversary of the transplant would be the perfect time to tie the knot.

The couple lived for several years in Green Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, until they recently moved to Tadworth.

The transplant has given Chris a new lease of life, but he knows his body could reject the kidney at any time.

Chris said: "In the back of my mind there is a potential time limit. It doesn't last forever.It could be five years,20 years or 40 years."

One benefit, though, is that they can now go abroad without arranging dialysis there.

And Anna does not see the transplant as a purely selfless act. She said: "I try to think of the benefits to me because it would be easy to think 'I have done this and that for you', but I don't really want to feel like that.

"It's done both of us the world of good and made our lives so much better.

"The night of the operation I lay there and thought 'what have I done?' but it was very short-lived. I have never had any regrets whatsoever."

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