News

Renal nurses up and down the country do an amazing job for kidney patients and are being nominated time and again by people participating in our Kidney Heroines campaign for World Kidney Day.

One such heroine is a renal nurse from Scotland who made the amazing sacrifice of donating her healthy kidney to a patient she will never meet, just before Christmas. Rachel, a 47 year old health professional of some 30 years, had known for a long time that being a live donor was something she wanted to do.

Rachel Cox, renal nurse

She told Kidney Research UK: “My family thought I was crazy. My husband kept asking me if I was sure but never once did he say ‘don’t do it’. I had a few sessions with a psychologist to establish I was doing it for the right reasons – it’s something all donors go through.

“A life on haemodialysis is not easy and it’s not really a choice. It’s something I see every day and I wanted to do something to make at least one person’s life better. You can only give your kidney once and that’s why I couldn’t choose who to donate to.”

After the operation Rachel said she felt tired and sore, but she was comforted by the fact she would soon start to feel well again.

She added: “It is not something I’ve spoken about much in public because I don’t want other renal nurses to think it is something they should all do – I’m well aware this is my personal choice and not something anyone should feel they have to do.”

If you’d like to celebrate your kidney heroine and their achievements, join in our heroines campaign.

Would you like to make a donation in honour of kidney heroines like Rachel? You can help us help people live lives free from kidney disease. To make a donation, text WKDA18 £5 to 70070, or find out about more fundraising ideas.