Transplanted kidney is 108 years old and going strong

A KIDNEY which is now 108 years old has kept the woman who received it in a transplant alive for half a century.

- Sarah O'Grady

Sue Westhead, 75, was given the organ by her mother Ann Metcalfe after she became ill as a teenager.

She had surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in July 1973 and has surprised doctors who only expected the transplant to last for 20 years.

She said: "When I had my transplant, I thought I would be extremely lucky if I got five years.

"I got 50 years, thanks to our wonderful NHS, my mother and her genes. I know my mother would have been totally amazed her kidney gave me life for so long after her death.

Indebted

"When I say I carry a little piece of her around with me always, I mean it. Thank you, Mam." Ann died 12 years later in 1985 at the age of 69 following a road accident.

Sue, of Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, added: "If your loved ones are thinking of donating, do it.