The chance that she will be able to donate her kidney to her husband is one in 22 million, reports the BBC. But it worked. A happy couple from Leicester are recovering from a transplant in July.
51-year-old Darren Creed, a respected chef, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease 12 years ago. He coped with the disease for a long time, but over time his kidney efficiency decreased to only 19 percent. This was associated with chronic fatigue and the prospect of frequent dialysis. As his wife, Donna Creed, recalls to the BBC, even holding a conversation was a challenge for him. Then doctors at Leicester General Hospital persuaded him to start looking for a donor.
“We had a better chance of winning the lottery”
Several members of his family, including his wife, volunteered for compatibility testing. “I didn’t have high hopes of finding a donor at all,” the man now tells the BBC. However, as it turned out, it was the wife who turned out to be a possible donor of this organ. “Kidney Care UK (an organization that helps people in need of a kidney transplant – ed.) told us that the probability that we would fit was one in 22 million. To be honest, we had a better chance of winning the lottery,” Darren Creed quotes the BBC.
“The odds were so slim, but every test we ran worked out. We couldn’t believe it,” echoes his wife. “Darren woke up from the transplant a new person. He felt so good. It was like my husband came back 25 years ago. He was laughing and joking,” added the woman, who works as a hotel manager on a daily basis.
Now Donna Creed is urging others to consider organ donation. “It’s great to be able to do this for your husband, a family member, or even a stranger,” she says. “Such a great gift for just a week of discomfort.”
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