Mum ready to give kidney

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Mum ready to give kidney

3:07pm Monday 12th January 2009
By Tom Shepherd »


A MOTHER from Oxford is waiting with bated breath to discover if she will be able to donate one of her kidneys to her son.

Diana Berry, 52, a barmaid at Summertown’s Grove House Club, had been told she could not donate an organ to son Matt Trinder, 24, because they did not have compatible blood types.

But last week doctors told her they did have the same tissue type, which could mean she will be able to donate an organ after all.

Mrs Berry has also signed up to a ‘pairing’ transplant scheme, that allows her to donate a kidney to another person in need of a kidney, whose friend or relative would donate to another patient, which could be Matt.

She said: “We have two avenues open to us now – it’s a tremendous boost.”

Mrs Berry expects to know by the end of the month whether she is able to donate her kidney directly to her son.

By coincidence, January is also the mother and son’s opportunity for finding a compatible ‘pair’ in the pioneering transplant scheme.

Mrs Berry, who joined the scheme last September, said a computer processed the details of everyone on the register every three months – January, April, July and October.

She said: “January is the first window open to us, because they didn’t have enough information about Matt in October. If we find a match, Matt could have a new kidney by April – we have our fingers crossed.

“I can’t wait for it all to be done and dusted, so we can get back to our normal lives. ”

Mr Trinder, who grew up in Abingdon, requires 12 hours of dialysis a week, because he suffers from a disease called IgA Nephropathy, a kidney disorder that occurs when IgA – a protein that helps the body fight infections – settles in the kidneys.

He said: “Dialysis hinders my life quite a lot and it’s quite frustrating waiting for a transplant.”

The Manchester College music lecturer added: “My mum is focused and wants to go through with it – I want things to hurry up for her really.”

Last month, Mrs Berry organised a charity auction at the Grove House Club, with prizes including a balloon ride and Premier League football tickets.

The event raised £2,000 for the kidney unit at the Churchill Hospital, in Headington.

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/4041346.Mum_ready_to_give_kidney/