New kidney donor technique works

A woman from Lincoln has become the world's first patient to receive a donor kidney treated with a new warming technique. Deborah Bakewell, 56, was on dialysis for nine hours every night over a two-year period after suffering kidney failure. Mrs Bakewell was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a rare, genetic illness that gradually leads to kidney failure, when she was 23. Seventeen patients including Mrs Bakewell have had successful kidney transplants using the relatively new technique called normothermic perfusion. This involves warming the kidney with oxygenated blood after it has been in cold storage, reversing damage caused by low temperatures.

• More than 6,400 kidney patients in the UK need a transplant

• The average cost of keeping a patient on dialysis for one year is £30,800

• A full kidney transplant is a one off cost of around £42,000 per patient with maintenance costs of £6,500 per year thereafter

Kidney Research UK estimates the new technique could cut the transplant waiting list by more than 10%