Nick Sawyer says kidney donor gave him his world back

Nick had been on kidney dialysis for two years.

But on March 19 last year, at 2am, Nick, 52, was told a donor had been found and plans were under way for him to have the kidney transplant he had been waiting for.

He and wife Donna, who are from Colchester, made their way to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and 22 hours later Nick had the life-changing operation.

Nick said: “I was buzzing, we were smiling and laughing and couldn’t stop the happiness we felt.”

That moment of pure joy was also tinged with sadness though.

Donna said: “It creeps in that someone has lost their life and you’re aware the whole time someone else had passed in order to allow my husband to live. “That’s the tragedy in all this and it brings you down to earth.”

All the couple ever found out about Nick’s donor was he was a man in his early thirties and his heart was still beating due to being on life support.

Those details were written on a small piece of paper by a nurse which Donna always keeps with her as a reminder of the gift they were given that day.

She said: “The kidney has not done anything except excel in Nick’s body - that’s very unusual - he’s not had to have any dialysis.

“It’s a real success story.”

Nick was diagnosed with polycystic kidneys in June 2000 after being extremely unwell.

He was vomiting, had constant urinary tract infections, spot bleeding and suffered regular changes in his blood pressure.

Three months later, aged 33, he was also told he had Multiple Sclerosis.

As time went on the cysts became more profound, they grew to the point where Nick’s kidneys were the size of rugby balls and put his other vital organs under extreme pressure.

In January 2016 his kidney function dropped significantly and he had to have one of them removed.

The kidney, which is normally the size of a fist, weighed 7lb 5oz and was heavier than his step granddaughter who was born shortly after the surgeryweighing 7lb 1oz.

After the surgical removal, Nick started having kidney dialysis at the Colchester Primary Care Centre.

Nick’s illness is something he and Donna, who is also living with MS, have tackled with a positive outlook but they praised the help and support they received along the way from renal unit Sister Amanda Haralambous and her team.

Donna said: “His kidney function just went down and down, he was quite near the end of his life.

“We kept staying positive but it was shatteringly tiring. He could do very little and was going downhill in front of my eyes.

“He wasn’t the same man, he is always smiling and laughing and had a good sense of humour but his energy levels had gone.”

“We do miss it (the dialysis unit), we miss the people and the regularity of it.” You think you won’t, but you do. We had all this time to fill so we started going to the cinema.”

Nick recovered well after the surgery and now goes for check-ups at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and will stay on anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life but he has his life back.

He said: “Staying positive is key.”

New organ donation legislation is due to come into effect in England next year.

Max and Keira’s Law passed through its third reading in the House of Lords in February and is expected to receive Royal Assent within the next few weeks.

The change in law will mean that, unless you choose to opt out or are in one of the excluded groups, you will be considered to be a potential organ donor when you die.

Those who are covered by the change will still have a choice about whether they want to be an organ donor and their families will still be involved before organ donation goes ahead.

Medical Director at Ipswich Hospital Crawford Jamieson is chairman of the Organ Transplantation Committee at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT)

Medical Director at Ipswich Hospital Crawford Jamieson is chairman of the Organ Transplantation Committee at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

He said: “We take organ donation really seriously.

“Whenever there’s a potential donor we always explore it, and we identify people who could have been donors in meetings, realising every potential donor could save several lives.

“Public awareness in Suffolk and Essex is something we can work on. It’s something we all need to think about for the common good.

“If you think there’s an event that may result in organ donation, there’s a whole team of nurses who know the sensitivities to make the process as straight forward and appropriate as we can.

“We know too at the most awful of times many bereaved families take comfort from the fact it helps others and there are some benefits that can come from that bereavement.”