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Husband loses four stone to donate kidney to wife

Charlie StubbsWest Midlands
News imageAllison and Darren Clay On the left, there is a man who is bald, wearing a black polo t-shirt with dark grey framed sunglasses. On the right, there is a woman in a dark blue off-the-shoulder t-shirt, with a tattoo next to her shoulder. She has blonde hair. Allison and Darren Clay
Allison first became ill from a mosquito bite in 2009, after she returned from a holiday abroad

A woman from Shropshire says she feels "emotional" after her husband lost weight to donate his kidney to her.

Allison Clay, of Donnington, was diagnosed with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) in 2011, and was told she had stage 3 chronic kidney disease.

A decade later, her husband Darren had to lose four stone (25.5kg) so he was a healthy weight to give his wife his kidney.

Six months ago, he was able to give Allison his kidney and the transplant was a success.

Allison first became ill in 2009, after she returned from a holiday abroad.

She noticed a mosquito bite had turned into a rash but her GP did not have any major concerns about her health.

Following more appointments, Allison was referred to her local renal clinic where she was diagnosed with HSP.

Darren immediately asked whether he could donate his kidney, but at this point, it was too early to know whether Allison would need the transplant.

News imageAllison and Darren Clay On the left, there is a man who is bald. He is wearing a black t-shirt with a red kidney shape, and the words 'I shared my spare' underneath. To his right, there is a woman with blonder hair. She is wearing a purple t-shirt with white text saying 'my new kidney is down here.' The letters in 'kidney' and 'here' are both in green and there is an arrow pointing to her kidney.Allison and Darren Clay
Allison and Darren say they have been recovering well since the surgery

Ten years later, it was found his wife would need an operation.

Darren started losing weight, as his BMI had to go down to make the procedure safe.

However, plans were delayed when Darren was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which is a heart condition that can cause a very fast heartbeat.

"As our operations approached, I felt so emotional about it but Darren never thought twice about it," Allison Clay said.

"It's such a selfless act and he did it without hesitation.

"I feel like the luckiest person to have such a loving husband."

A team from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust took on the surgery, which surgeons later found was the trust's 5000th.

Dilan Dabre, who is a consultant renal transplant surgeon at UHB, says he is proud of being part of the team that took on the landmark transplant.

Since the surgery, Allison and Darren say they have been recovering well.

"I couldn't believe how well I felt within a few days of surgery. My new kidney seems to be doing well and everything is going in the right direction, Allison added.

"We've both had a few little issues since the operation – I've developed tremors in my hands and legs, but my doctor has assured me it should settle down."

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