A woman from Falmouth whose lifelong friend donated a kidney while she was on dialysis has urged others to get themselves tested to see if they could be a donor.
Julie Leck, 58, from Falmouth was having to undergo weekly dialysis at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth when she reconnected with her childhood friend Jackie Walker from Mabe, but formerly of Falmouth.
The pair had become firm friends after meeting as five year olds in Falmouth.
“I was complaining to my mum I was bored one day and she told me to go down the road and ask the little girl who’d just moved in if she wanted to play. I knocked on her door and we’ve been firm friends ever since,” said Julie.
The pair had sporadic contact for the last 20 years but Jackie came back into Julie’s life recently and they became close again.
“She told me the first thing she’s going to do was to get me a kidney and signed up as a donor,” said Julie.
While her kidney did not prove to be a match, it meant that she was able to do a swap, where her kidney was given to another person in Portsmouth and Julie got a kidney from elsewhere.
Jackie was given an award by the hospital for her sacrifice.
However Julie says more people are needed to come forward to give people still on dialysis a chance “There are still other people in dialysis,” said Julie. “We need other people to come forward and get a blood test to see if they are able to give a kidney.”
Jackie, also 58, told the Packet she’d taken the decision to donate her kidney to Julie after losing her father and her brother and getting divorced which gave her a different perspective on life.
She and Julie reconnected and she decided that she wanted to donate her kidney to her. While they did not prove a match she went through the operation on July 19 last to help someone else live.
“I can’t say I didn’t have a few sleepless nights, when I didn’t wake up and think: ‘What am I doing?” she told the Packet. “But I’d do it all again in a heart-beat.”
“It hasn’t impacted on my life at all, apart from getting over the operation. I am absolutely fine.”
She said if anybody else is considering donating a kidney and want to find more, she is more than willing to come and give a talk to local groups about what it entails.
You can contact Julie through the Packet.
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