WHY I GAVE MY KIDNEY TO A TOTAL STRANGER

WHY I GAVE MY KIDNEY TO A TOTAL STRANGER
Date : 14.12.07

A Derriford Hospital nurse is only the second person in the country to donate one of her kidneys to a complete stranger.

And in an unprecedented move, Barbara Ryder, 59, will meet the recipient of the organ for the first time today.

A change in the law has meant people can now donate kidneys to strangers, rather than just relatives or close friends.

So Barbara, a pre-op assessment nurse at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, took advantage of the law change, and in September, donated a kidney.

It was then transplanted into Andy Loudon, a retired carpenter from Bedfordshire, who had been on dialysis for two years.

Grandmother-of-two Barbara had no idea where the kidney would go or who would receive it - but that didn't matter to her.

She said: "You do want to give something back to society as you get older. With this kind of donation, you get a great feeling from the joy of giving.

"It's better than Christmas. You get a lot more fun and happiness by giving something that can change a life."

Barbara, who lives just outside Launceston, had heard there was to be a change in the law and talked to Sarah Stacey, living donor transplant co-ordinator at Derriford's South West Transplant Centre to register her interest in becoming a so-called 'non-directed altruistic kidney donor'.

After rigorous medical and psychological tests with both Derriford staff and the Human Tissue Authority, to ensure Barbara would be a suitable donor, she was given the go-ahead.

In July, Sarah received a call saying a suitable match for the kidney had been found by UK Transplant, and after further tests the operation was organised for September 18.

Barbara knew nothing about where the kidney was going, all she knew was that it would benefit someone - and that was all she wanted to know.

She said: "I didn't know anything about it at all. I just knew it was going to someone."

Derriford surgeons Jacob Akoh and Jamie Barwell removed Barbara's kidney during a three hour operation at Derriford. It was then packaged and couriered to the recipient's local hospital where it was transplanted into him.

Barbara said: "I did wonder where it had gone, but I had the impression that I would never be told, so I wished it well and apart from that I wasn't to know anything."

A week after the operation, Barbara received a card from recipient Andy.

She said: "It boosted my morale massively and I realised this was actually a person.

"He said it had changed his life and that made the world of difference to me and I started to recover very well after that.

"I sent a card back saying it was okay, and that I had a spare one. I told him that it had made a difference that I had helped someone."

Two months after the operation Barbara returned to work, and now the Human Tissue Authority have organised for her and Andy to meet for the first time in London today. This is the first time two people involved in stranger donation have met.

She will be accompanied by her son Jefferson, 36, and Sarah for support.

She said: "I think I've been very fortunate, and grew up with parents who tried to help others. My mother died very young and she had kidney problems.

"When people approach 60 I think they do start thinking 'I have been lucky'. I thought that giving away a kidney was something I could do to help someone else."

Recipient Andy, 68, originally from Scotland, said: "My father had polycystic kidneys and died at 48. His father died at 38 of the same disease, and since I was diagnosed with the same genetic problem, I've been living on borrowed time.

"What Barbara has done for me really is amazing. I felt overwhelmed and honoured by what she's done, and it's restored my faith in human nature.

"The operation's given me my life back and given me freedom."

Sarah Stacey added: "The altruistic living donors and new initiatives are fantastic, and will offer some hope to individuals out there for live donations.

"But the main thing is still for people to talk about their wishes with their families and register on the Organ Donor Register. Living donations are fantastic but it will never overcome all 7,500 people who are waiting for a transplant in the UK."

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