19 January 2024 , 22:28
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A pensioner whose kidney is 108 years old has celebrated the 50th anniversary of her lifesaving transplant operation.
Sue Westhead, 75, was 25 years old when her mother Ann Metcalfe donated the organ to her. Sue began to feel unwell at 12 years old and was on dialysis by the time she underwent the life-changing surgery in July 1973. Ann died in 1985 at the age of 69 after giving her daughter the opportunity to lead a “fulfilled life”.
The organ’s longevity has stunned medics as a transplanted kidney usually only lasts for up to 20 years.
Sue said: ‘When I had my transplant, I thought I would be extremely lucky if I got five years. The 50 years are thanks to our wonderful National Health Service, my mother and her genes. I would like to stress what amazing treatment I have had from the NHS. I certainly wouldn’t be here today without it.” She added: “My mother would have been totally amazed that her kidney gave me life for so long after her death. When I say I carry a little piece of her around with me always, I mean it. Thank you, Mam.”
Sue's mum Ann died in 1985 at the age of 69 after giving her daughter the opportunity to lead a “fulfilled life” (PA)Sue could hardly walk before the operation and her skin was yellow due to her failing kidney function. Sue, of Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, is a keen advocate for organ donation, saying: “If your loved ones are thinking of donating, if the circumstances are right, do it.
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“To all those people walking around thinking they’ll get round to signing up some day, your kidneys are no use to you once you’ve passed away. Just think of the joy you would bring to a person and their family who is leading a miserable, tied-down-to-dialysis life. They would be forever indebted.” Sue underwent her operation at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, but is currently under the care of the Sunderland Royal. Consultant nephrologist Rachel Davison does check ups and confirmed all was well.
Dr Davison said: “Sue’s story, and that of her mother, is truly amazing. It shows what medicine can do and how transplants can give people a life and lifestyle they simply would not have been able to have. For some, a kidney transplant offers a chance of return to a virtually normal life. Kidney transplants help people live longer and better.”
Robert Hughes, of County Durham, has also celebrated 50 years since his life-saving kidney transplant. He had his operation on January 18, 1974, after his late brother John was found to be a match. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust’s renal unit hosted a celebration for Sue and Robert, where they were presented with a certificate and a plaque.
The Mirror campaigned for five years for an opt-out law on organ donation introduced in 2020. It was called Max and Keira’s Law in honour of Max Johnson, 16, and his donor Keira Ball, who died in a car crash in Barnstaple, Devon. It means that people are assumed to be donors when they die, and no longer need to carry a donor card.
For more information on organ donation you can visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk