John and Helen Lord are recovering after the transplant

John Lord was able to give his wife Helen a kidney because the couple, from Hertfordshire, share the same blood group though are not a perfect match.

The transplant, the second donated kidney for Mrs Lord, was carried out by a big surgical team at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

They were warned the risk of not surviving the surgery was one in 2,000.

On Friday night the couple, from Stansted Abbotts, were still recovering in hospital, but earlier admitted that to go ahead with the surgery was difficult because of the possible repercussions for their children.

It is just something anybody would do for their wife if it came to the crunch. I never gave it a second thought John Lord

"The problem is you don't know if you are making a decision that is going to make the situation worse rather than better," Mrs Lord said.

"The worst thing would be if one of us died during the operation because of the children. We will both be having a general anaesthetic at the same time."

Mr Lord said he never thought of the donation as a sacrifice.

"It is just something anybody would do for their wife if it came to the crunch. I never gave it a second thought," he said.

Mrs Lord said her first transplant 20 years ago, with a kidney donated by a stranger, had allowed her to have children, but that began to fail and for the past year dialysis has kept her alive.

The latest kidney transplant bring the Addenbrooke's Hospital's team's tally to a record 86 in the last year.