Father donates kidney to save daughter's life

A father has saved his daughter's life by donating one of his kidneys.

Lee Chester, 37, says he did not think twice when he decided to donate the organ so that his little girl, Esme, could have a healthy life.

The three-year-old was forced to spend 14-months on dialysis for 12 hours a day, seven days a week after suffering kidney failure.

But when tests found her father was a match, the decision was a no-brainer.The pair are recovering well after the transplant operation which took place on Thursday.

Esme's mother, Rachel Mulhearn, 27, has been splitting her time between both of them at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Manchester Children's Hospital.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Lee told Manchester Evening News “We are both doing really well. I’m so glad it’s gone well for Esme. She’s eating mashed potato in bed.

“I’m quite sore so I’ll have to milk it at home for a bit. It really does show the importance of opting in for organ donation. It really does save lives."

Medical teams have not been able to diagnose what caused the toddler's kidney's to fail in June 2015, or why she suffered a stroke last Christmas.

The family says Esme will be a stronger person after everything she has been through.

Esme was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure last year following a routine blood test. It was a complete shock for her parents as she only had a cough at the time.

Despite her diagnosis, Esme kept her positive energy.

But things got worse as the family were getting ready to go on holiday to the U.S. when Esme suffered a stroke on Christmas Eve. She was in intensive care for six weeks.

Esme was in hospital until mid-March. In that time she had to learn to walk and eat again. She spent her third birthday on the renal ward, delaying the transplant.

Following the operation, her parents hope Esme will be able to move forward and start pre-school at Tyldesley Primary in September.

The toddler will have to go back to be tested to check her body has accepted to kidney.

Her father wants everyone to sign up to the organ donation register.

Writing on Facebook, Esme's mother, Rachel, said: “My beautiful family recovering after Daddy donated his kidney to our very brave little girl Esme who has faced far too much for any person let alone a child.

“Here’s to the future thanks to the best daddy in the world. He has given our daughter more than a gift, a chance at a better, healthier life and we will teach her to realise anything really is possible. They are doing really well, and everything looks to be working wonderfully. Donation changes lives - sign up today!”

Esme is part of the Genome 100K Project, with DNA taken from 70,000 NHS patients to create a database for medical research and hopefully future diagnosis.