Woman who gave kidney to friend urges more people to consider becoming donors

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “When I went to dialysis with him, I could see that people were seriously ill all around us and I couldn’t bear it anymore.” Within hours of the transplant, the difference in his condition was noticeable, and now the pair are urging more people to consider kidney donation as part of World Kidney Day. “If your car is damaged – you buy a new part and fix it, but why won’t you do that for your fellow human being?” Mr Massaquoi and Ms Davies have known each other for more than 20 years and met when they worked as housing officers at the council, and she put herself forward to check if she was a kidney match. She said: “I don’t see what I’ve done as amazing, but I think the joy of knowing that you’ve changed someone’s life is a phenomenal feeling.” For many people with end-stage kidney failure, a transplant significantly increases life expectancy. NHS Lothian’s living kidney donation team said that only about a third of living donor transplants in Edinburgh are from a related donor, such as a parent or sibling, and often a direct living donor may be a spouse, partner, friend or work colleague.