Donor dads give children new lease of life

From the Kidderminster Shuttle, first published Wednesday 6th Jun 2007.

ALMOST 1,000 "donor dads" have given their son or daughter a new lease of life since living organ transplantation began in the UK.

Figures released by UK Transplant for Father's Day 2007 show that 965 dads - and counting - have donated a kidney or part of a lung or liver, to save their child since the first father-to-child transplant, in May, 1969.

In the past year alone, 91 fathers donated in this way, including father-of-two, Colin Meikle, of Glasgow, who gave a kidney to his six-year-old daughter, Katrina, in February.

Mr Meikle, 39, said: "Katrina was diagnosed with renal failure in early 2006 and had her transplant a year later. Living donation was mentioned quite early on and we knew that it would probably offer Katrina the best chance, so I was over the moon when we found out that I was a match for her.

"The effect of the transplant on Katrina was amazing. She was very listless before the operation and found it hard to play or run around but these days she is full of energy. She went back to school a few weeks ago and is really enjoying herself."

He added: "I'm very well too. It's a major operation but I was out of hospital and back to normal life quite quickly. I'm a keen cyclist and I was even back on my bike within a couple of weeks."

At a time of record need for organs from deceased donors and an average waiting time for a kidney transplant of two and a half years, living donation offers patients a shorter wait for their transplant and important medical benefits.

They include less time spent on dialysis, as well as a greater likelihood of a successful tissue match between blood relatives.

Last year, 690 people became living kidney donors, of whom most were either parents or siblings of the patient. The operation is highly successful and poses minimal risks to donors, since a healthy person can lead a normal life with only one kidney.

Despite the successes, however, the majority of patients still depend on a deceased donor for their lifesaving transplant.

More than 9,000 people in the UK need an organ transplant but the desperate shortage of donors means fewer than 3,000 operations can be performed each year. About 400 people die each year while waiting.

For more information about organ donation or to join the NHS Organ Donor Register, call 0845 60 60 400 or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk

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