Kidney transplant hope for dad (27)

Kidney transplant hope for dad (27)

* Published Date: 08 January 2008
* Location: Burnley

A BURNLEY man who has waited years for a transplant is hoping the new year will bring a new start – and a new kidney so he can spend more time with his little girl and pursue his dream of travelling.

Mr Mark Taylor (27), of Wycoller Avenue, Brunshaw, must endure dialysis sessions at Burnley General Hospital three times a week and has been on the waiting list for a new kidney for seven years.

"I have been in intensive care twice because of this and although I'm only 27 years old I feel like a 50 or 60-year-old man," he said. "I can't do all the things I want to do because I am always tired.

"I would love to work as a plasterer and have my own business but I can't work. I have an eight-year-old daughter but she lives in Manchester and going to visit her makes me tired.

"She is old enough to know I'm not well but it's not good for her to see me like this, it upsets her. I just want to get my life back."

Mr Taylor said his brother suffered from the same genetic condition and received a donor organ four years ago. "The average
waiting time is four years but I've been on dialysis for much longer than that," he said.

Mr Taylor is keen to highlight the plight of others on the transplant waiting list. "Dialysis affects more people than you would think and I just want to raise awareness about the issue. I don't drink or take drugs and I never have. I'm trying to cope with it and have been doing for a long time but as each year goes by I am disappointed and it gets worse and worse."

The UK National Kidney Federation says patients can wait up to 10 years for a kidney to become available, although around 50% of patients who have been on the waiting list for two years will get an offer of a kidney.

It blames a shortage of available kidneys for long waiting times, with patients who have a rare tissue types facing a longer wait for a donor.

For more on Mark's moving story, don't miss Friday's Burnley Express

The full article contains 380 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Last Updated: 08 January 2008 2:17 PM

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