Heartlands Hospital porters save loved ones with kidney donations

Two members of staff who work as porters at Heartlands Hospital will be celebrating Christmas with their families, after saving the lives of their loved ones by donating their kidneys.

Mary Worthington donated a kidney to her son-in-law Anthony Smith in March this year. 36-year-old Anthony had been receiving home dialysis for two years and had been on the transplant list for around nine months.

Both Mary and her husband Kevin offered to donate, but Mary was a closer match. The transplant went ahead - and Mary went back to work full-time twelve weeks later.

Anthony and Shereen, Mary’s daughter, have four children and since his transplant, his quality of life has hugely improved. He no longer needs dialysis four times a day, isn’t tired all the time and can run around after his children.

Richard Stanley and his wife Carole met while working at Heartlands Hospital and shortly after their wedding in July 2013, Carole, who is diabetic, became very poorly with renal failure.

She was placed on the transplant waiting list and when her kidney function was at just 15%, Richard offered to be tested to see if he could be a suitable match. Surprisingly, he was a close match, and the transplant operation went ahead in October 2013.

The couple, from Solihull, spent just under a week in hospital recovering from their operations before returning home. Richard had six weeks off work and Carole returned to work 18 weeks after her transplant.

Carole now works as a waiting list co-ordinator at Heartlands Hospital and has a new lease of life since her transplant. She has more energy and can enjoy time with her family, including her son Daryl, from a previous relationship, and her eight-year-old granddaughter Faith.