AN INSPIRATIONAL woman has told how she donated one of her organs to a childhood friend when she was struck down by kidney failure in the hope of giving her pal her life back.
Elaine Graham made the brave decision to give her old schoolmate, Pauline Conroy, one of her kidneys after seeing her pal battle with kidney failure and chronic kidney disease.
The 50-year-old, who is the president of local drama group Greenock Players, says her selfless act was inspired by the story of Greenock nurse and fellow Greenock Players member Kristin Hamill, who received a lifesaving kidney transplant from her brother Brendan at the turn of the year.
READ MORE: Greenock nurse Kristin saved by brother's kidney donation
Pauline first discovered the issues with her kidney function in 2018 when her GP was carrying out routine blood tests.
She was told by doctors that her tests indicated her kidney was only operating at 12 per cent of its normal function and was admitted to hospital for more tests and scans.
Pauline said: “They kept me in hospital for a while doing lots of scans and told me my kidneys were very small and they seemed quite badly damaged.
“I had to watch my timings all the time and know when I had to go home to do a dialysis exchange. It was three times a day I had to do it.
“It affected my life quite a lot, at work I had to go home and do it at home.
“I had managed to stay on that for four years, but it was starting to get to the stage where I’d need more dialysis and they’d have had to consider moving me onto the haemodialysis, which is three days a week.
“At that stage you run the risk of not being able to get something from the [transplant] list.”
Elaine told the Telegraph that after seeing the extent to which Pauline’s condition was affecting her life, and hearing about Kristin and Brendan’s story, she decided to get tested to see if she was a transplant match for her friend.
READ MORE: Brother and sister honoured at 'Inspirational Inverclyde' awards night
She said: “I’d been aware she’d had a few issues with her kidneys and had been on dialysis and the waiting list for a transplant in the last few years.
“I’d go down to see her where she stays in London every so often, and I’d said to her if there was anything I could do to help, I’d be up for it.
“I just knew she’d been waiting quite a long time for her transplant and then last December when we were down, she hadn’t been great.
“It was around the time Kristin was getting her kidney from her brother and I just thought enough is enough, I want to find out what I can do to help.
“It wasn’t something I was really aware you could do and I think people still aren’t as aware of it.”
Elaine then contacted the hospital in London where Pauline was receiving treatment, and was told she could do her side of the transplant tests at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
After finding out she was a match for Pauline, Elaine was given a full check over by the staff to ensure she was fit enough for the procedure before the surgery took place in August.
Because of the physical distance between them, Elaine’s kidney had to be flown from Scotland to London after it was extracted so it could be delivered to Pauline’s doctors.
Thanks to the hard work of the two teams of doctors, the operation was a success and now, 11 weeks on from the surgery, the pair are both recovering well.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Pauline said that the surgery had given her a new lease of life and was full of praise for her friend’s incredible kindness.
She added: “Elaine swooped in just at the right time as my saviour.
“When she told me she wanted to do that, on one hand I thought it was fantastic, but on the other I really didn’t want her to have to go through that for me.
“But she was so determined that she wanted to do it. She really made it very easy for me."
The 50-year-old admitted that she still hadn’t quite come to terms with the gift she’d been given.
“It’s quite incredible," she said. "I can travel places now, I can go see something at night time without thinking about what time I need to do a dialysis exchange.
“I didn’t tell Elaine I was going to be ending up on haemodialysis, because I didn’t want to put any pressure on her, but I would have been spending three days in the hospital.
“There was not chance of me getting another kidney for at least two years.
"After two years on haemodialysis I probably wouldn’t have been that fit, which is important for a transplant.
“So far I had been able to stay at work all the time, but I would have struggled to do that.
“She’s given me back a normal life.”
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