Kidney donor's plea to others

[okarol]

Kidney donor's plea to others
Dborah Haile
28/ 9/2008

A MAN who donated a kidney to the woman he fell in love with over the internet is urging other people to become donors.

Ian Fleming, from Manchester, married Teresa in October 1998 after a 12-month internet romance.

His new American wife had been seriously ill with a kidney disease for 18 years and had been desperately searching for a donor.

Weeks after their marriage, Ian was asked to be routinely screened - and he beat odds of a billion to one by being just what the doctors ordered.

He didn't think twice about donating a kidney to Teresa and the transplant was completed the following month.

Now almost 10 years later, the couple are preparing to celebrate the anniversary of their surgery as they have done every year - by tucking in to a bright red, kidney-shaped cake.

Ian, 38, now lives with his wife in the US where he works for a tomato-packing company in Maryland.

Before the surgery, Teresa was too ill to work and relied on regular dialysis for survival. Now the 46-year old is teaching after going to university and graduating in education.

Ian says that in light of Teresa's astounding recovery, he would be happy to donate further organs following his death - and he is urging M.E.N. readers to consider doing the same.

He said: "I look at Teresa and I see that it does work. It's amazing. If anything happens to me she can take all my organs - why not try to make someone else's life a bit better?"

Ian, who was a champion cyclist with Middleton Cycling Club, had to conquer his fear of needles when he agreed to the transplant.

But he was was discharged from hospital in Philadelphia just a week later, and within six weeks he had brought his new wife to his parents' Newton Heath home to celebrate Christmas.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1069437_kidney_donors_plea_to_others