A Wirral dad donated a kidney to a total stranger on his 65th birthday.
Paul Dixon, 74 and from Birkenhead, became a 'living donor' after watching breakfast TV a year earlier. Paul, who worked at Ford Motor Company and Jaguar Land Rover in Halewood for 41 years, was initially met with shock at his decision.
Paul first join the organ donation register, but he had no idea you could do it while still alive until 2012 when he watched BBC commentator Richard Pitman on breakfast TV talking about donating his kidney.
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Having "always enjoyed exceptional health", Paul called Royal Liverpool Hospital, home of the local kidney transplant unit, to express interest. The hospital sent him leaflets and a DVD the following day, leading to an interview where he learnt about the testing he'd go through to check he was healthy enough to survive with only one kidney.
Paul's family were "a bit shocked" when he told them what he was planning to do. He said: "I came home and said to my wife - which wasn't the best way of doing it, I should have discussed it with her first - but I came back from the Royal saying, 'Guess what?'"
"She said, 'Oh well, it's your kidney, and she realised I had a year full of tests to get through and I may not get through them, because you didn't know at that point. I hadn't been to a doctor for years because I'm never ill. I've never been to a hospital for anything else. I don't suffer with anything."
His two adult sons were initially apprehensive but Paul said they ended up being his "biggest supporters".
Paul underwent X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, an electrocardiogram (EDG) and an ultrasound, repeated over a year, along with meetings with a psychologist and a representative of the government regulator, The Human Tissue Authority. You can change your mind at any time in the process, even as you prepare for surgery, but Paul is "quite stubborn and quite determined".
Once Paul got the go ahead, it was matter of waiting for news of the date of his surgery at the Royal. He told the ECHO: "The other hospital chose the date, and it was the date of my 65th birthday. I was quite happy with that. I thought, 'Oh that's a day I won't forget'."
He went into the Royal on March 18, 2013, the day before his birthday, and he was discharged 48 hours after surgery. Paul said: "You leave feeling a bit as if you've been run over, but you quickly recover because your remaining kidney steps up to do the work of two. There are no restrictions on your lifestyle. You can take part in sports. And just within a few weeks, you don't feel as if you've ever done it."
Paul went for monthly checkups, but this gradually decreased in frequency, now being an annual checkup with blood tests and the occasional X-ray. All he knows of the person who received his kidney is their first name from thank you cards they sent.
Roughly a year after surgery, Paul helped out at his local hospital, Arrowe Park, during organ donation week, during which he was invited to join their organ donation committee after revealing he was a living donor. He later also joined the committee at the Royal. Paul said he's probably healthier now than before he donated his kidney, estimating he walks up to 70,000 steps across three days of volunteering at
Organ donation was changed to an opt-out system in May 2020, but families are still always consulted before an organ donation goes ahead, which is why it's important to discuss the matter with your loved ones. Paul said: "Everyone is going to die. Hopefully we'll all live to an old age, but some of us don't. Some of us will die tragically very quickly. But you can still join the Organ Donor Register even though it's changed from opt-in to opt-out.
"Should something tragic happen to you, if you've decided to be an organ donor, your organs can be used. Your family will be consulted before that, just to verify that they were your wishes. That's why it's so important to tell your family."
Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "We know the pandemic is a very worrying time for kidney patients as thousands of people, including 68 patients in Merseyside, wait for a life-changing kidney transplant. We're pleased that transplant activity is now recovering and we’re doing everything we can to enable as many transplants as possible to take place as quickly as possible.
"Sadly patients are facing a longer wait and more people need a kidney transplant, so it is more important than ever for people in Merseyside to share their organ donation decision with their family to help others after their death. And if anyone in Merseyside is willing to consider living kidney donation, they can find out more on our website."
For more information, or to register your organ donation decision, please visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23. NHS app users can also use the service to record, check or update their organ donation decision. Please tell your family about your organ donation decision and leave them certain.
