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| Woman with 100-year-old kidney from mum 'still going strong' | Woman with 100-year-old kidney from mum 'still going strong' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A woman with a 100-year-old kidney has credited its longevity on coming from "good stock". She would know - it came from her mother. | A woman with a 100-year-old kidney has credited its longevity on coming from "good stock". She would know - it came from her mother. |
| Sue Westhead was 25 when she was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1973. | Sue Westhead was 25 when she was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1973. |
| When told a transplant was her only chance of survival, her mother Ann Metcalfe, then aged 57, donated her kidney to her daughter. | When told a transplant was her only chance of survival, her mother Ann Metcalfe, then aged 57, donated her kidney to her daughter. |
| Now Sue, 68, and her kidney are "still going strong", defying medical predictions over the organ's lifespan. | Now Sue, 68, and her kidney are "still going strong", defying medical predictions over the organ's lifespan. |
| She said: "I think it's down to my mother's good genes. She must have come from good stock." | She said: "I think it's down to my mother's good genes. She must have come from good stock." |
| Sue, of Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, had only one tenth of normal renal function when she was diagnosed. | Sue, of Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, had only one tenth of normal renal function when she was diagnosed. |
| Recalling the time, she said: "I could hardly walk, I was a different colour - I was yellow and all of a sudden I had a rosy glow. | Recalling the time, she said: "I could hardly walk, I was a different colour - I was yellow and all of a sudden I had a rosy glow. |
| "It was a pretty scary time, even when I was still on the ward people were dying. | "It was a pretty scary time, even when I was still on the ward people were dying. |
| "My mum literally gave me life because I wouldn't have lived much longer." | "My mum literally gave me life because I wouldn't have lived much longer." |
| Kidney transplants: The facts | Kidney transplants: The facts |
| Source: Kidney Research UK | Source: Kidney Research UK |
| Doctors usually estimate a transplant from a living donor will last 20 years at most. | Doctors usually estimate a transplant from a living donor will last 20 years at most. |
| But Sue said hers is "still going strong" 43 years on, adding she has looked after herself and taken 20 pills a day to make sure the kidney was not rejected. | But Sue said hers is "still going strong" 43 years on, adding she has looked after herself and taken 20 pills a day to make sure the kidney was not rejected. |
| She said: "I remember thinking 'if I get five years I'll be happy'. That was 43 years ago and my kidney is heading for 101 years old in November. | |
| "You just have to get on with life, not play the victim and wrap yourself in cotton wool. | |
| "I'm pleased my dad didn't come back as a match because he didn't even dare go to the dentist, so it would've been really hard for him. | |
| "If my mum was scared she never showed it. She had to be taken down first obviously because they had to remove her kidney and then I was brought down. We were side by side [in our hospital beds]." | |
| In 1973, only between 30% and 40% of transplanted kidneys lasted for five years. | In 1973, only between 30% and 40% of transplanted kidneys lasted for five years. |
| The family's story featured in local newspapers as living donor transplants were still relatively rare at the time. | The family's story featured in local newspapers as living donor transplants were still relatively rare at the time. |
| Every three weeks Sue spends two hours arranging her pills for the days ahead - a task she does not enjoy, but one she realises must be done. | |
| And she is delighted with the results. | |
| "I think [my mother] would've been astounded that it's lasted so long," says Sue. "Neither of us could possibly have imagined this longevity. | |
| "Each year when I get to the transplant date I think, 'Well, there's another year'. Long may it last." | |
| Prof Derek Manas, president of the British Transplantation Society, said: "It's an amazing story of encouragement and hope for people on dialysis and for encouraging people to donate as living donors or to join the Organ Donor Register. | Prof Derek Manas, president of the British Transplantation Society, said: "It's an amazing story of encouragement and hope for people on dialysis and for encouraging people to donate as living donors or to join the Organ Donor Register. |
| "I think Sue must be one of the longest survivors." | "I think Sue must be one of the longest survivors." |
| Dr Charlie Tomson, consultant kidney specialist at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital and a trustee for Kidney Research UK, added: "It's an absolutely wonderful story. | |
| "Although kidney centres around the UK and internationally have patients who have lived a long time, they are still very rare. We just wish we had more research as to why this is. | |
| "It would be great to bottle whatever Sue has got and give it to other people. | |
| "The success rates of early transplantation have got better and better, so now 97% of living donor kidneys would be expected to be functioning at one year." |