Lewisham officer donates kidney to sister - just in time for Christmas

Community safety officer Tristan Hunter, 32, donated a kidney to his older sister Amy who suffered renal failure.

He agreed to have the nine hour operation after finding out he was a 100 per cent match.

Amy, a primary school teacher from Enfield, suffered reflux as a baby, which badly damaged her kidneys.

Tristan donated his kidney after he discovered he was a 100 per cent match for his sister.

Her kidney function deteriorated and when she was pregnant she suffered renal failure and had to have her twin boys – who are now 10 years old – delivered at 29 weeks.

Their function continued to decline and without a transplant she would soon have needed dialysis.

Amy said she was incredibly grateful to Tristan for donating his kidney to her.

She said: “I am completely overwhelmed by what Tristan has done.”

“It’s amazing – I am going to have to get him something really special for Christmas in return!”

The operation was nine hours long.

Tristan, from Swanley in Kent, said it wasn’t a difficult decision to donate his kidney to Amy.

He said: “I knew that I wanted to do it, but I did start to feel nervous the closer we got to the operation – it started to hit home what we were going through.

“But the whole operation wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be really painful, but it wasn’t too bad and the doctors and all the staff were amazing.”

Tristan said he wanted to have the operation before his wife gives birth to their first child, which is due in March.

“We wanted it to be done before the birth so I am fully recovered," he said. "It’s all gone as well as could be expected so the whole family is really pleased. We can all enjoy a great Christmas together.”

Following the successful procedure at the Royal Free Hospital last month, the siblings can now enjoy a healthy and happy Christmas.

Their story was told by the Royal Free hospital who posted details on Twitter during the 9 hour operation, with the hope of encouraging others to join the organ donor register. You can follow Tristan and Amy’s journey on Twitter using #YesIDonate.