'I donated a kidney to save my brother-in-law'

"It's bigger than I thought," says John Dyson as he watches the moment his sister-in-law's kidney is lifted out of her body to eventually be given to him.

"It's a brilliant kidney," replies Lorna Stockwood. "You got a great one there."

They are watching back the films from two operations during which one of Lorna's kidneys was removed and donated to save the life of her sister's husband, John, 51.

One person dies every day waiting for a transplant, so this gift could not be more precious.

They invited BBC Breakfast cameras to follow their journey in the hope of encouraging other people to join the live kidney transplant register.

We first met them two days before the planned procedures in January.

John is emotional as he tells me: "It's unfathomable. It's a whole new chapter and I think as a family that gives us hope."

His wife Lindsey, Lorna's sister, says: "You just can't get your head around it.

"There's somebody effectively putting their life at risk to save John's life. How do we say thank you?"

But Lorna, 53, says it is something anyone would do for a loved one.

"You know that's not to say we don't have our disagreements and our arguments, we're a normal family but we love each other and this demonstrates how much we love each other."

John, who lives in Alderley Edge, was a huge fitness fanatic who had taken part in many marathons so he was stunned when, five years ago, his kidney's started to fail.

Three years ago, he started haemodialysis at Macclesfield District General Hospital.

It left him with cramps and very little energy and the process ate into his life as he made the six-hour trip to hospital every other day

A process so demanding the family have not been able to take a holiday in years.

"It keeps me alive. But the rigour of every other day having to be there, it's really tough," he says.

"With it, life is radically different, but if I didn't go for ten days, I'd be dead."

At the end of January at Manchester's Royal Infirmary, they were both taken to theatre.

In that week their surgeons had overseen a transplant from a father to a three-year old son, a husband to a wife, a brother to a sister, and now we were filming a transplant from a sister to her brother-in-law.

Guy Bradburn, the ward manager, collects ice in the container which will soon transport the gift of life to John.

"No two stories in living donation are the same so it really makes life very different for us every day," he says.

When John told friends and family that he was on a waiting list for a donor, he had no expectation that anyone would come forward.

Straight away his wife, her three sisters and a brother-in-law all put their names forward to be tested as potential donors.

Lorna, from Prestbury, laughs as she tells me they put their names forward while secretly hoping that someone else would be the one.

But the psychological and medical tests showed that Lorna's blood and tissue type was the closest match.

So, it was Lorna's kidney that was removed, put on ice and rushed across to another operating theatre where her brother-in-law was waiting.

The surgeon and his team are working to a killer soundtrack and at one point the euphoric Yes by McAlmont and Butler plays - "Yes, I do feel better. Yes, I do, I feel alright."

There is a moment in surgery where Lorna's kidney is stitched into John.

It is a grey, ashen-looking organ.

But moments later surgeon Giuseppe Giuffrida stands back to show us the transformation.

"Now look, it is infused with blood, and you can see how it has changed, that nice pink colour - exactly what we want to see," he says.

And this is the moment that brings tears to John's wife Lindsey as they watch the footage back, six weeks later with the whole family.

"That is life being given back to John," she says.

"How can I say thank you for that sacrifice. Thank you for giving the kids their dad back."

"You know down the line we're probably going to be screaming at each other," says Lorna.

"Same old family dramas, same old family stuff, but it's little moments like this that make you go, I really appreciate you. This is love."

I ask how she is doing and she says she would be lying if she did not admit she was feeling ropey.

"But that's tiny in comparison to seeing John reclaim his life," she says.

"He went for a massive walk today, which considering he's only been doing 159 steps a day, it's huge."

John says he has loads more energy but it is likely to take a few months before he feels the full impact.

"It's going to be amazing. I have a brand new life.

"All I can say is thank you."

According to NHS Blood and Transplant, the UK transplant waiting list has reached record levels with more than 8,200 people still waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

More than 6,500 of those on the transplant waiting list are in need of a kidney.

NHS Blood and Transplant urges everyone to confirm their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register to help save lives.

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