INSPIRATIONAL brother and sister duo Brendan and Kristin Hamill have been honoured at a local awards ceremony.

The pair picked up two awards at the recent Inverclyde Inspirational Awards, where guests heard the heartwarming story of how Brendan bravely gave up one of his kidneys to save his sister after she was struck down by sepsis.

Brendan, 30, was presented with the ‘Inspirational Inverclyde Citizen Award’ while Kristin, 26, was given the ‘Canning Memorial Award’.

Brendan told the Telegraph he was proud of his sister and would encourage others to follow in his footsteps and donate their organs.

He said: “I think it’s important to say from the donor side that anyone who’s out there who is in the position to donate, or can, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

“Overall, nothing’s really changed for me, and there’s nothing that’s worth seeing more than what Kristin’s got now.

“At no point throughout this process did I feel as if I wasn’t sure what was going on, or felt pressured. I just got support from everyone at every hospital appointment.

“Everybody gave me their all. You go through such a rigorous process but it’s to make sure that you’ll be fit enough for it, and you can change your point at any point in time.

READ MORE: Greenock nurse Kristin's life was saved by her brother's kidney donation

“I’d encourage anyone who can do it, to do it.

"Seeing Kristin get out of her hospital bed and get back to things would have been great, but she then went back and finished her placement and became a nurse.

“She was fundraising as well, when she really wasn’t in a great place.

“I’m just so proud of her.

“Seeing her go and see some sort of life, and have some sort of normality, that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Kristin was equally proud of her big brother, who had to deal with the stresses involved in donating an organ while also supporting her. 

She said: “Brendan has coped with it so well. He’ll have things in his head he might never speak about.

“He’s very humble about it, but he does call himself the 'kidney king'.

“It was amazing to see him win the award, I was so excited for him.

“The atmosphere in the room when he won it was incredible. It was a standing ovation.

“Sometimes the focus is on me, but Brendan is the reason I’ve kept going.”