A woman has received a new kidney from an old friend who told her: “You can have one of mine, love.”
Bev Farnsworth’s hereditary condition left her with just 4% function of the organ. Polycystic kidney disease had already taken the lives of her mother and grandmother
And Bev, 65, was desperate to avoid dialysis after seeing her brother struggle through it. In a bid to find a donor, she posted a plea on Facebook. She had not seen Lisa Chapman, 49, for 20 years but Bev, who runs a home credit business with her husband Colin, revealed: “She said, ‘You can have one of mine, love’.”
A total of 12 volunteers were tested but Lisa was the best match. Gran Bev said: “We had a couple of setbacks but we knew that Lisa was the one. She’s quite spiritual and she knew she was meant to do this for me.” The friends had drifted apart after marriage and kids.
But Bev, of Barnsley, South Yorks, said: “There’s a bond between the two of us now that is so unique, we are closer than we ever were before.” And she said of her transplant at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds: “It worked brilliantly. I feel absolutely amazing.”
Mum-of-two Lisa said: “I couldn’t imagine being without her. How can you say no to someone who’s asking you to save their life?” About one in every 2,500 Brits have polycystic kidney disease.
Polycystic kidney disease is an inherited condition that causes small fluid-filled sacs called cysts to develop in the kidneys. In most cases, symptoms become more noticeable when the cysts grow large enough to affect the kidneys' functions. This usually occurs between 30 and 40 years of age.
According to the NHS, between 30,000 and 70,000 people in the UK are estimated to have polycystic kidney disease. While some patients experience kidney failure soon after being diagnosed, others may live the rest of their lives with their kidneys working relatively well. On average, around half of those diagnosed will require treatment for kidney failure by the time they're 60.
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